


He must be a real idiot.

by Florencia573



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Dorks in Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Jealousy, M/M, Moving On, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Unrequited Love, albus goes on a date with OC but only for the sake of the plot, scorpius loves him he just doesn't realize yet, this is my first time ever writting fanfiction- bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-22 18:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13769730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florencia573/pseuds/Florencia573
Summary: “You know…” Scorpius started “I always thought we would deal with each other’s… ‘dramas’… when the moment came…” He was looking at the ceiling and playing with the sleeves of his sweater. “Crushes, heartbreaks…” He turned his head to look at Albus. “I never thought I’d be the one causing them.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this idea some time ago, when I read a one shot with a similar plot, and i thought that the overall idea could fit Scorbus.  
> POV variates between between Albus and Scorpius in each chapter.

“I love you” Albus said, his voice higher than normal. He swallowed once. They were both sitting in the Slytherin common room, in front of the fireplace. It wasn’t really cold, but he guessed that it was lit for the aesthetic touch. Scorpius and he had been playing chess, enjoying the fact that they had the common room all by themselves, the way they always did when it was this late at night. 

He hadn’t even intended to say it, but he had been keeping it in his head for a while; and looking at his best friend laugh while they talked and played chess was so domestic it hurt. He had to, he couldn’t keep it in. This was their sixth year, it was about time.

“I love you too” Answered Scorpius, looking at his friend as if he had grown a third head. “I mean, you are my best friend” He said, as if he was trying to point a reason to say it. “What’s wrong?”

“No” He had to stick to it. “I’m IN LOVE with you” He clenched his jaw, holding Scorpius’ gaze.

“You are…” He blinked. “Oh…”

“Yeah…” Albus tried to stay calm.

“That’s….”

“I know…” He was not going to cry.

“…Okay…”

“Okay.” He had to keep it cool.

“I….” Scorpius started. “I don’t…”

Fuck. “That’s okay. That’s totally okay, I mean-I… It’s not even… Look you don’t have to…” He was really going to cry. Why the hell did he do this to himself?

“Albus…”

“No, really, you don’t have to say anything I’m sorry I’m making it weird…”

“No. No, it’s not weird.” Scorpius looked as if he still couldn’t believe any of it. To be fair, Albus couldn’t believe it either.

“I just… I do…. I had for a while… And I- I thought” He took a deep breath and sighed, but it came out a little shaky. “Fuck Scorp I’m sorry, I don’t even know what I thought, I just…” 'I thought that you felt the same' Thought Albus bitterly. He was mad at himself for it.

“I do love you.” Scorpius said “It’s just…”

“You don’t wanna date me.” He added, quickly, way too quickly. Damn it.

Scorpius opened his mouth and then closed. He did it a couple of time, and if it wasn’t by the fact that Albus wanted to crawl under a rock, he would have laughed. “No… I don’t” He finally said “I-I’m sorry I really don’t know what to say.” He looked mortified. “You are my best friend Al, and I love you dearly, but…” It was obvious that he was struggling with words “Please don’t be mad at me.” Scorpius opened his eyes, realizing what he said “I mean, no, you can. I mean it’s your right to be mad at me, but please don’t. I just… I never thought about you that way. I don’t know…”

“And if you had time to think about it?” Albus bit his lip, in for a Knut, in for a Galleon, he thought.

“I don’t know…” Scorpius looked at him, really looked at him. It felt as if he had a trillion of thoughts in his mind at the moment. He swallowed. “I’m sorry…” He began, and Albus could feel his heart breaking once again for the second time in this 5 minutes. “…you know that I would do anything for you, Al, especially if it means it’ll make you happy, but…” He sighed “I don’t think it’d be what you’d want…”

Albus looked horrified. “No. No, no I would never force you Scorp, I’d hate that. I just…” His voice broke. Merlin, he was making a fool of himself. 

He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m making this all awkward, I…” 

Scorpius opened his eyes, shocked. ‘’Al…’’ He looked as if he wanted to cry too. Great. 'Good Job, Al. Now you are making him feel guilty, you big piece of trash' He damned himself.

“No…” He tried to reassure his friend. “No, it’s not…” Shit. Seeing Scorpius cry was making it all worse. ‘’Look, Scorp…” His voice cracked one more time, and before he could notice, Scorpius arms were around him.

“Please don’t cry. Don’t” Scorpius almost crushed him. He could tell his best friend was trying to comfort him, but being this close was making no good. 

He hid his face in Scorpius’ shoulder, taking a deep breath and smelling his familiar scent. Fuck. It hurt so much. 

“You don’t think…” He rested his cheek against his friend’s shoulder instead, trying to calm down. “…that maybe we could… in the future?” Salazar, Merlin and all the famous wizards in the world, he was so lame. 

Scorpius was now running his hand in circles on his back. He stopped for a second before continuing. “I’m sorry Al…” Albus could feel his fingers moving against his skin, through the thin layer of his shirt. “If I had the smallest hint of it, I would. You know I would, but…” He could feel Scorpius shaking the tiniest bit. “I do love you.” He said, and somehow that wonderful phrase hurt Albus so much. “Please don’t hate me because it’s not the way you want me to…”

Al pulled away quickly. “No. I don’t hate you, I could never.” They still had their arms against each other’s, and Albus focused his sight on his own hand, the one that was touching Scorpius’ bicep. He tightened his grip the tiniest bit, trying to hold his feelings.

“Do you need space?” Scorpius sounded genuinely concerned. He was such a good friend, anyone else would have cut the conversation short and left Al to deal with it alone. And probably never talk to him again. Albus panicked at the idea of it. 

“No.” He looked at Scorpius again. “Please don’t do that. I understand if you want to get away from me for a while. This must be all so weird for you, but please… if you can still stand me, don’t go.” 

“I would never. You are my best friend” Scorpius tightened his grip. “This isn’t weird, just… unexpected…” 

“Thanks,” Albus smiled softly and finally letting go of Scorpius, resting his back against the couch and stretching his legs on the rug. 

Scorpius looked at him confused, but followed his lead and did the same.

“You know…” Scorpius started “I always thought we would deal with each other’s…. ‘dramas’… when the moment came…” He was looking at the ceiling and playing with the sleeves of his sweater. “Crushes, heartbreaks…” He turned his head to look at Albus. “I never thought I’d be the one causing them.” He finished with a sad smile. “I’m sorry”

This time, Albus laughed softly in spite of everything. He then proceed to put his best drama Face ‘’Ugh, Scorpius you won’t believe what happened today?”

“Please tell me everything” Scorpius continued the act.

“So I got all this courage of mine, which isn’t much, mind you not, and confessed to my crush. And he rejected me. Bummer.” He put on a real smile, despite the tears filling his eyes. 

Scorpius smiled back, his eyes shining too. “He must be a real idiot, then.”

“Nah, not really…” Albus kept eye contact “He is great, actually. All smart and kind”

“Not so kind if he hurt you.” His eyes were filling with tears too now. 

“He didn’t meant to.”

“Doesn’t matter. I guess I’d have to hex him after class.”

“And get in trouble for a boy? Not worth it.” 

Scorpius smiled. “No, I guess he is not worth it.”  
“Men.” Albus finished, and they both laughed like they hadn’t just be crying on each other two seconds ago. This was nothing. Crushes come and go. He wasn’t going to lose Scorpius because of it, he had to get a hold of himself. 

He turned his head to his best friend, watching him finish his laugh. His blonde hair fell in front of his eyes, and the glow of the fireplace made his skin look soft and silky.

Albus felt his heart skip a beat. And despite thinking that all those books that talked about love were lying, that they were exaggerating, the hurt in his chest felt worse than a punch. 

This wasn’t going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my frist language, but i'm trying my best. If you spot any mistakes, i encourage you to tell me!  
> I can't remember the fic I got this idea from... But well, this is just a classic ''Unrequired love'' story, so it's not that unique on it's own.
> 
> Kudos and comments are welcomed! They encourage me to keep writting<3
> 
> I have the whole story planned out, so don't worry.
> 
> This is my first time posting on ao3 and i'm learning


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius POV. 
> 
> This chapter is a bit longer. I'm gonna try to upload as soon as I can, but college might get in the way.

Scorpius sat on his bed and sighed. Albus was already asleep, if his breath rate was any indication. Scorpius had excused himself to take a shower so he could give his friend some privacy.

He was now drying his hair with a towel, his pajamas on, looking at his friend while he rested. There were too many thoughts in his head, but the main one was fear. What if Albus didn’t want to talk to him anymore? What if everything turned awkward? He couldn’t lose him. He was everything to him. Why did things had to change? What happened?

He glanced at Albus once more. Had he really taken him for granted? He always thought that their friendship was given. It was a matter of fact. Albus and Scorpius: best friends forever. No one could say otherwise. 

And he thought it would always be that way.

That Albus would always be there for him.

Merlin, he was so selfish.

“I though…” Albus had started and never finished, but he didn’t have to be a genius to know what he was going to say. 'He thought you felt the same way' A little voice said in his head.

He looked at his friend for what it felt like the million time in this night. He didn’t get it. I mean, he did. It was Albus. Albus Potter. His best friend. Of course he meant the world to him, of course he loved him dearly. What was wrong with that? Was there anything wrong? He guessed that, yes, there must be, because Albus was now in pain. When did it change? Had he been so full of himself that he completely ignored Albus’ feelings?

It made him feel like shit. He didn’t want his best friend to be hurt, to hate him, or worse: to get away from him. 

He decided to go to sleep before he could continue panicking.

(***)

 

Scorpius woke up to the sound of something crashing in the bathroom, followed by a curse and a muffled ‘’Reparo’’.

‘’Al…?’’ He asked, rubbing his eyes. He had gone to bed already late last night, and to make things worse he had stayed awake in bed thinking about the previous talk he had with his best friend. Oh. That talk. He suddenly remembered everything.

“It’s okay, I just dropped…’’ He paused ‘’…a vial…” He could hear the sound of the tap and someone snoring on the bed farthest to the door, on the left side of the room. 'Coleman' He thought. His roommate had the habit of sleeping until noon on weekends, and like a log, he might add.

“What time is it?” Scorpius asked, lost on his thoughts. 

“Umm… about ten to eight…’’ Albus answered, finally getting out of the bathroom. His hair was messier than usual, as it always was when he tried to fix it. Scorpius smiled at that.

“Hair potion?” He asked. He couldn’t help his smile, he always found it rather cute when his friend worried about his hair. It suited him so well, but he didn’t seem to like it that much.

Albus touched his hair self-consciously. “It’s no use…” He looked in the mirror that hanged next to the bathroom door. “My dad says he gave up years ago, that it will never lay flat.” He sighed. “I guess I must accept my fate.” He added dramatically.

Scorpius got up the bed while his friend talked, glad of the fact that he showered last night, since they had to meet Rose in the library at 8:45 and he would like to have breakfast and read the prophet first. 

Their relationship with her had gotten better through the years, especially after she and Albus had a very personal talk at the start of their fifth year, which ended, as Albus told him later, with Rose apologizing for her behavior and telling him that she missed their friendship. They weren’t the best of the friends, or at least Scorpius felt that way (although that could be credited to his self-consciousness when it came to social interactions) but it was nice to hang out with her sometimes and have a laugh or two, or do homework. 

“Just drop it, we are going to be late.” He said, changing into some jeans and a tee. 

Albus said nothing, and when Scorpius looked up he saw that his friend was trying to re-fix his hair on the mirror into his previous ’natural messy’ style rather than the one he created. 

Scorpius walked up to his friend, and got his hand out of the way. “Seriously, Al, there’s nothing wrong with your hair.” He said as he combed some locks out of his face. “In fact, I think it suits you.” He looked down at his friend and smiled “Really”

Albus blinked at him a couple of times, before ducking his head and taking a step back.

“…Sorry… Did I…?”

“No, no. It’s just.” Albus bit his lip. “I’d rather you don’t do that…” 

“Oh…” Scorpius said, sounding sadder than he intended. He didn’t know why it bothered him. Al and he had always been close, they never had an issue hugging, after they had decided it was a thing. Casual touches were fairly common between them, and Scorpius was used to that, it was normal, it was how they were. He wondered if that was what made Albus think that he felt something more for him. He wondered if Albus now wanted things to change. He understood, of course, but he couldn’t stop the nagging feeling that it would be wrong. 

“It’s just…” Albus looked up at him, and then down again. “I need some space. I mean, I don’t but…’’ He took a deep breath. “I don’t want us to stop being best friends. Or hanging out. Or anything at all, I would hate that.”

“Me too” He added quickly, feeling a sudden rush of panic. “I’d hate that.”

Al nodded. “But I would prefer if you stopped treating me like that… It….” Albus blushed. “It’s just… I like it.”

“I like it too” He reassured his friend.

“I like it more than I should.” Albus finished, blushing an even deeper shade of red. 

“Oh”

“…Yeah…” He finally looked at Scorpius. “I know it’s weird, but…” He was twisting his fingers. “I will get over it, I promise, but I can’t if you keep petting me and stuff and I just keep getting all mushy about it.” He was so red that he could have honored the entire Weasley bloodline. 

And now it was Scorpius time to blush. He hadn’t even notice he did that. I mean, he was aware that he… touched Albus? But Al did it too. It wasn’t that deep, was it? I mean, sometimes his hair was messy or his tie was crocked… or he had something in his cheek… But he wasn’t ‘petting’ him. It was just… a friendly thing? 

Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but Coleman let out a big snore, startling them both. They looked in his direction, then back at each other. There was a second of silence before they both burst into laugh.

“Let’s just go” Said Albus, still grinning. “I do NOT want to keep Rose waiting.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” He answered, following his friend to the great hall. Breakfast would have to be fast. 

 

(…)

 

They arrived at the library at 8:30, Rose smiling at both of them.

“Well, someone’s early.” She teased, putting down her quill.

“That makes three of us.” Albus smiled back at her, taking his usual seat across from her. Scorpius followed his lead and sat next to his best friend. 

“I woke up early and decided to clean up some notes,” She said, pointing to the parchment in front of her.

“We were both excited to do some intensive morning of studying, couldn’t wait five more minutes.” Albus said innocently to his cousin.

“Oh, I bet.”

“Albus was terrified of being two seconds late.” Scorpius interrupted, setting his books over the table. 

Rose laughed at Albus' betrayed face. “Hey, I was on my right to get mad!" She said "This had been a scheduled meeting the entire fifth year, and I expected nothing less from our sixth. And I was here for half an hour! All by myself!” 

“It just happened once, okay?” Albus mumbled, looking for the right chapter on his book. “I fell asleep…”

Scorpius was grinning too. “Here,” He grabbed Albus’ book and turned it to the right page. He noticed his friend getting a bit stiff, and suddenly remembered what he had asked him. 

“Sorry,” He moved back to his own book

“No, it’s okay, thank you.” Albus avoided eye contact.

Scorpius turned his attention to his essay, being suddenly extremely aware of his best friend sitting next to him. Was he too close? Was he invading his personal space? He didn’t know what was too close or just the right distance. How close do you sit with your best friend? Does it matter? 

He was suddenly very conscious of himself. He never had to think about how he acted with Albus. Their friendship was given, they just were. He didn’t know what to make out of all of this.

Rose was now looking at the two of them, one eyebrow raised. “What’s wrong?”

Albus looked up at her “Huh?”

She looked between the two of them, trying to read their faces as if they were the book she had in front of her. “…You…” She stared at her cousin for a second “…never mind.” 

Albus looked at her, and then decided to change the topic. “So, did you finished your transfiguration essay?” Albus asked casually.

“I’m not gonna let you copy it.” Rose said with a smile.

“No, no I was not gonna ask that…” But Scorpius heard him curse under his breath. 

 

(…)

 

The three of them were making their way to the great hall, talking about what they wanted for lunch and their nearest exams.

“I don’t care what’s for lunch” Albus concluded, “I could eat an entire oak tree by this point and I’d tell no difference. I’m starving.” 

Rose was about to make a remark, before her attention turned to a group of girls and boys hanging by the entrance of the great hall. 

“Oh.” Albus was blushing slightly, and also looked highly uncomfortable. Scorpius couldn’t be more confused.

They were still at a safe distance from them, but it was obvious that they had been noticed. 

Rose smiled. “Your boyfriend’s there.”

Albus was now more purple than red. “Shut. Up. Rose.” But she burst into laugh.

Scorpius hadn’t feel this lost since his parents had been talking about his mother health when he was a kid, and just as then, even though he couldn’t understand what was happening, he didn’t like it at all. 

“Boyfriend?” He almost chocked.

Rose was laughing harder than before, tears filling her eyes.

Albus glared at her, and then looked back at Scorpius. “Riley Aaron.” He said softly. That didn’t answer anything. In fact, it just raised more questions.

Scorpius was about to ask who and what were they talking about, when Rose interrupted. “Okay, okay, so this boy, Riley Aaron. He is in our year, from Hufflepuff.” She grinned at Albus. “Has a crush on him.”

“He…” Scorpius began, looking up again at the group of friends. There were two boys and three girls. Two girls were Hufflepuffs, the third one he recognized form their potion classes and was a Ravenclaw, but he didn’t know her name. The other boy was a Gryffindor, and by the book he was holding he could tell that he was a year younger than them. He finally looked at this Riley in question. 

He was indeed a Hufflepuff, his hair was light brown, almost like honey, and slightly wavy; his eyes were the same colour as his hair. His skin was tanned and he had a baby face. He wasn’t bad looking, neither had he looked particular mean. In fact, he looked rather friendly and was now blushing while his friend laughed. He looked nice. And somehow Scorpius found him extremely annoying. 

“How do you know that?” Scorpius asked instead. 

“Do you remember the last Quidditch practice?” Rose asked. He nodded. She had invited them to the Gryffindor practice, but he opted to stay finishing his essay, so Albus had gone alone. That had been last Thursday, two days ago. “At the end of it, Jessica, that’s the Ravenclaw girl, walked up to us and told him.” She pointed at Albus. She was still grinning. “Poor Riley looked like he wanted to die. I don’t think he wanted her to tell him.” She finished and looked back at the group of friends. “But sometimes people need someone to push them, or they might never act on their feelings.” She finished that sentence while looking at Scorpius, who just looked at her puzzled. 

He looked back at Riley, then at Jessica, then Albus and finally Rose. This was all too much to processes. 

“Let’s just go grab lunch.” Albus said, and started to walk into the great hall.

Scorpius and Rose followed him. Riley’s friends stopped talking as they approached, and the Gryffindor boy pushed him. Riley looked back at him with a frown, and Rose giggled. Scorpius was still confused as ever. 

“Hey,” Riley looked at Albus as he passed next to them.

Scorpius couldn’t decipher Albus, who just smiled shyly and said ‘hey’ back, as he rushed into the hall. He could hear them whispering fast as they walked away. 

Rose suddenly spotted one of her friends. “Alright boys, see you two at dinner.” She said as she walked away. Rose usually had one meal with them at the Slytherin table, and it seemed like lunch wasn’t going to be it. Dammit. He had too many questions and he didn’t feel like asking Albus.

They were filling their plates when Scorpius finally asked. “So… Riley Aaron.” 

“Yeah…” Albus was looking at anything but him.

“Do you like him?”

Albus looked up at him with a looked that said ‘really?’ Oh. Right. The confession. Last night. Scorpius blushed.

“I mean…” Scorpius started, cursing himself. He didn’t know what he wanted to say, or what he wanted in general. Did he want Albus to like Riley back? He didn’t even know Riley. But did he want Albus to date someone? He guessed that yes, if it made him happy.

But Albus had never liked anyone, had him? Scorpius hadn’t even notice that Albus liked HIM, how could he tell if he had fancied someone else? And did this all mean that Albus was gay? Merlin, it felt like there were a trillion of things that he didn’t know about his best friend. 

He stared at Albus, who was very interested in his food at the moment. He also noticed that he was sitting very far away from Scorpius, just as they were on the library. 

He didn’t like that.

He wanted everything to be normal, he wanted things to be like before. He wanted to sit next to Albus and touch his hair and hug him without it being awkward. He wanted to laugh at their jokes and not worry about invading Albus’ personal space. And mostly he wanted the safeness that their relationship meant to him. He liked the feeling of knowing exactly what Albus wanted and how he felt. Nothing felt like a secret between them and he felt 100% comfortable with him by his side. 

And now he didn’t know what Albus felt, what he needed or how he was supposed to act. And a part of him wondered if he even had before, maybe he had been making Albus uncomfortable and just being a bad friend, and he didn’t even notice. 

He glanced back at the Hufflepuff table. 

Maybe if Albus got his mind on someone else he would get over Scorpius, and then everything would be like before. No awkward distances or silences. Just Albus and Scorpius.

“He seems nice.” Scorpius said.

Albus looked up at him. “What?”

“Just that. He looks like a nice guy. Maybe you should talk to him.” 

Albus was now staring at him, with an expression he had never seen on his face before. He looked down and swallowed hard. He frowned a bit, something in his eyes that Scorpius couldn’t quite point. “You think?”

“Yeah, why not?” Actually, he could tell Albus had a reason not to, but for the sake of his friend he didn’t mention it. 

Albus opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. “Okay, maybe…” He didn’t’ sound convinced, and it felt like he wanted to say something else instead. 

Scorpius decided to drop the topic and just eat, but he had lost his appetite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, English is not my first language!
> 
> Until March 2nd I'm gonna be busy with my finals, but I'll try to write anyway because I have everything planned out already. But if not, I'll continue next week. 
> 
> The story will have this tone, shifting between scorpius and albus while moving foward. Next chapter will be Albus POV.
> 
> Kudos and comments help me keep motivated <33
> 
> ps: i made some tiny fixes in the text. i'm sorry, this is my first time posting here and i don't fully understand the formart. I'm learning as i go!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Albus' POV

The weekend passed, and before he knew, so had half of the week.

Albus was sitting on the bench farthest away from the rest of the students and rested his head on the wall, looking at the roof of the castle. He was trying to reflect on everything that had happened, and at the same time he was trying to not think about anything at all.

He heard a group of girls, and the next thing he knew, Rose was sitting next to him.

“What’s with that face?” She asked, startling him.

“Merlin, Rose at least say hi, don’t just shout at me.” He said as sat properly on the bench.

“Woah, someone’s in a mood.” She frowned at him. “Where’s Scorpius?”

“He is in the library, I was going to catch up on him but I told him I needed some air first.” He kicked a pebble that was next to his shoe.

“Yeah… about that…” He had been avoiding her for the past days. He knew he still didn’t know how to act around Scorpius, and that Rose could tell something was wrong, but he didn’t know how to talk about it. Rose was looking at him in that face that reminded Albus so much of his aunt Hermione. He called it the ‘I know more than you know but I’m trying to be subtle about it’ face. But it wasn’t ever subtle. 

“What?” He spat. He hadn’t meant to sound that rude, but he wasn’t in the mood for Rose’s detective game.

She was still frowning at him, and apparently decided to change the topic. 

“Riley talked to you today.” She said lightly.

The comment startled him. 

“I wouldn’t call that ‘talk’ he barely said hey.” 

“Second time this week. It’s a start” She said, waving her hand.

“A start for what?” He glanced back at her.

“Who knows…” She smiled mischievously, then dropped it. “Scorpius seemed surprised.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” 

She bit her lip. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?” His attention was now on a couple of first years near the stairs.

“Albus.” He looked at her. “Seriously.”

“Scorpius said I should talk to Riley.” Albus answered. It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t give the full picture of the issue neither. 

Rose remained silent for a moment. “Al…” 

“I told him I was in love with him.” He blurted out. He didn’t know why he said it, he just needed to let it out. That seemed to be happening a lot lately, his sudden urge to let things out. Maybe his mom was right, he shouldn’t bottle up so much. 

“You…” Rose was doing that Rose thing where her brain seemed to be working at a thousand miles per hour. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” He let out a small laugh. “Oh” He repeated her.

“And he said… that you should talk to Riley as in…” She bit his lip. “Maybe he meant in a friendly way, you know? I always tell you that you should be more sociable.” It was a lame attempt at comfort and she knew it. 

“He said he didn’t feel that way. And that he would never.” He was once again looking at anything but her. “I asked him, you know? If he needed time. He said he didn’t, he was sure.” His eyes were filling with tears. “That I was his best friend and stuff but that he could never….” He took a deep breath. “Not that way.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “And now he said that I should talk to Riley. That he seems nice.” He laughed, but it was a sad attempt at it. 

Rose was staring at him as if he had just told her that a unicorn was going to be their next head of house or something. 

He always suspected that Rose knew how he felt, she always knew everything. And well, if she didn’t before, now she did.

“Al…” He had never seen Rose speechless before.

“It’s okay, really.” He swallowed over the lump in his throat. “This is just stupid, I will get over it. It was really stupid to just tell him without warnings.”

She suddenly stood up. 

“Rose?” He looked at her confused.

“I need to go.” She said, picking up her bag.

“Rose, what are you gonna…” He wiped his eyes again. Rose looked furious, and he didn’t like implications of that. 

Before he could say something or Rose could take another step, they were suddenly interrupted.

“Umm… This seems like a bad moment…” 

Their heads snapped up to the person talking to them.

“Riley.” Albus said, surprised.

“Hey,” The boy blushed. 

Albus was suddenly very conscious of the fact that he had been crying. He tried his best to look normal, and cleared his throat.

“What are you doing here?” He half wondered if he had sounded too harsh. He hadn’t meant to.

“I… I wanted to talk to you about…” He looked back, as if he was expecting someone to pop up. “About what Jessica said the other day and...” He looked incredible nervous, and Albus tried his best not to smile.

Rose looked at Riley and then at his cousin. “I guess I’ll leave you two alone.”

Albus glanced back at her. “Rose…”

“It’s okay, I needed to talk to someone anyway.” 

“Rose,” He said, harsher this time.

“Don’t worry, really.” He smiled at both of the boys in front of her. “And be nice” He directed that to her cousin.

“You too,” He said, almost as an accusation. 

“I’m always nice.” She said, and then got serious “I really just wanna talk, okay? “

Albus bit his lip “Just don’t… force anything.” 

Rose frowned at him. “I would never.”

“Good.”

Rose nodded at him and said a quick ‘good luck’ at Riley, which just made him blush more, before rushing into the castle.

“S-Sorry about that…” Said Albus, finally standing up to meet the boy. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry to interrupt.” He said as he scratched the back of his head.

“It’s okay, just some silly stuff.” He reassured him.

Riley nodded, and then looked at his feet. “So… okay. First of all I’m so sorry about Jessica. She just bursts into other people’s business without asking, and I know she means well but… well, she can be a bit fierce.”

Albus smiled to himself. “Reminds me of someone.”

Riley smiled back shyly, pointing with his head in the direction that Rose had stormed out. “She seemed like she had her mind put to something.”

“Something like that,” He answered. “And don’t worry about it, about… what your friend said... It’s cool” 

“Oh, okay…” He bit his lip, and then looked back at his feet. “I…” He sighed. “I’m sorry I’m so awkward with this stuff…” He was red, and maybe it was because Albus could relate a lot to him, but he couldn’t help the smile on his face.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’m no better here” He laughed a bit, 

Riley looked back at him, and gave him a tiny smile. He then took a deep breath. “It’s true, what she said, you know?” Albus remained silent. “I-I do like you… and…” He closed his eyes for a second. “And… I wanted to tell you because… well…” He laughed nervously. “Well, mostly because everyone is pressuring me into talking to you for once and for all…” He realized what he was implying. “Not-Not that I talk about you! I mean, I do but it’s not that much and not like in a creepy way, I just,” 

Albus was now blushing. No one had ever told him that they liked him, much less that they talked about him. It was such a weird concept, someone thinking about him. He looked at Riley. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, in fact, he had a rather cute face. He was about the same height as Albus, maybe just a bit shorter, and the way he was blushing and stumbling over his words was rather endearing, Albus thought. He weighted his options.

“Dammit.” Riley took a deep breath. “I’ll just get to the point.” He looked at Albus. “I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to… hang out. Like… a date? It doesn’t have to be one… but…”

He had barely talked to Riley before, and he had never been more than a classmate, they were rather distant, but Albus could say that he liked him. Scorpius was right, he seemed rather nice.

Scorpius. Fuck. Albus hated himself for remembering him. But this was a great opportunity, right? This was just what he needed, to go out, maybe try to like someone else. And he didn’t have to like Riley that way, or much less love him, but it could help him to get over Scorpius. He could now think about someone else, and if everything else failed, he could at least pretend that he was getting over his best friend, and he wouldn’t be so weirded out by him. 

“I’d love to go out with you.” He said. 

Riley’s eyes opened. “Really? I mean, cool!” He was grinning from ear to ear. “Maybe we could go to Hogsmeade this Saturday?”

Albus smiled kindly, “That sounds nice”

“Great! Okay, so… See you next Saturday? Or before, who knows. I mean it’s just Wednesday, we might bump into each other.” He laughed awkwardly.

“Sure,” Albus grinned at him, “See you later then”

“Yeah, see you then” Riley walked towards the castle, waving him.

Albus decided to go look for his cousin before she did something stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the feeling that Albus' chapters will be shorter than Scorpius' ones, since I want to focus on Scorpius' struggles first.
> 
> Thank you so much for the kuddos and lovely comments! I thought nobody would read this haha


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius' POV.

Scorpius was remembering the talk he had with Rose this afternoon. There wasn’t much to think about anyway. She had just interrogated him about why was he acting, in her eyes, weird with Albus. When he explained to her what had happened, after she had been insisting multiple times, she just sat there and looked at him for what felt like years.

“What?” He had asked her.

“Nothing…” She was staring at him, and he felt incredible uncomfortable. “I guess Hugo is right, I’m not use to being wrong…”

“And what are you wrong about?” 

She had kept his eyes on him like her life depended on it. “I thought… I could have sworn… and not just me, you know?” He did not know. He was in fact extremely confused. But that seemed to be his current state nowadays. “And all the bets we had…” She whispered to no one in particular. “I’m gonna lose so much money…”

“Rose you are weirding me out” He said, “Could you please be less cryptid.”

She blinked at him, still baffled. She shook her head. “Nothing” She mumbled, before changing the topic.

He was now sitting next to Albus while casually eating his dinner.

“So what do you think?” Albus asked him.

“Huh?” Scorpius turned his head to him.

“Were you listening to me?” Albus frowned, but he sounded rather amused.

“S-Sorry, not really…. I was a bit lost in my thoughts.”

Albus sighed, “Whatever, it wasn’t important anyway.” Albus wiped his mouth with a napkin “Are you done? I’m tired as hell.”

Scorpius hadn’t really touch his dinner “Yeah, I’m not hungry anyway.” He stood up and began to walk next to Albus, when he noticed his friend waving at someone. He followed his gaze and noticed Riley waving shyly from the Hufflepuff table. He was sitting in between the two Hufflepuff girls he had seen the other day, both of them whispering intensely to him. 

He frowned at the scenario. This was supposed to make him happy, right? 

“You two seem friendly,” He commented

Albus looked back at him, blushing. “You could call it that way…”

They had exited the great hall, and were now walking by the empty corridors. 

“You two have been friendly since last weekend…”

Albus frowned slightly, “We barely said hi.”

“Right.” 

They continued walking in silence.

“We actually talked before I met you at the library.” Albus said.

“Yeah?” He spoke casually, still looking ahead.

“Yeah.” Albus sounded nervous. “He asked me out.”

Scorpius stopped abruptly. Albus made two steps before he realized, and turned back at him.

“What?” Scorpius didn’t know why, but he didn’t like the sound of that.

“He asked me out,” Albus repeated. “And I said yes.”

Scorpius could hear his ears ringing. He swallowed. “You said yes?”

Before Albus could answer, Scorpius heard someone running behind him.

“I saw you two leaving the hall,” Rose was panting. “How do you walk so fast? I wanted to ask you how it went!” She was smiling at Albus.

“Um…” Albus started, looking awkward.

Scorpius was now looking between the two of them. “You knew?”

She straightened her shirt and then answered. “Well, he approached Albus when we were talking, and I left them both alone. So I don’t think I knew knew, I just knew.”

“That makes no sense.” Scorpius said.

“Whatever.” She turned back to Albus. There was something weird about her excitement about it. The same weirdness she had when she interrogated him at the library. “What did he say?”

Albus was now blushing. “He asked me out,” He mumbled “I said yes.”

She was now grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t believe you got yourself a boyfriend before me.” 

Scorpius felt as if a bucket of ice had fallen on him. Boyfriend?

“Boyfriend? Al you barely know him.” His attention was now full on his best friend.

Albus frowned at him. “He is not my boyfriend.” He turned back to Rose “He is not. It’s just a date, okay? Stop making that face, it’s just a date.” 

“Oh, Al, my dear cousin, this is just the start!” She clapped her hands together. 

Albus blushed at that, and he couldn’t help but feel extremely pissed off at Rose. Why was she pressuring Al when he was clearly uncomfortable? He felt the urge to step in.

“They are going out once, it’s not like they are going to get married, Rose.” He said. 

Rose smiled, looking very pleased with herself. Was she doing this because of what Scorpius had told her? Was this some sort of revenge? Then she was acting really stupid, because Scorpius was actually really happy for his friend. The only thing that bothered him was Albus rushing into things, he just wanted his best friend to be careful, that was all. Right?

“Oh, of course not. But this is still very exciting.” Her smile didn’t budge. “This is Al’s first date...” She said casually “And you know what first dates mean.” She paused, dropped her smile and changed it for a devious smirk. “First kisses.”

It felt as if she had dropped a bomb and was now waiting for the aftermath. 

Kisses. Of course. People usually kissed on dates. Scorpius felt suddenly very sick. 

“Rose.” Albus said, mortified. “No one is kissing anyone, okay?” 

“Huh? But you don’t know that. Isn’t that what dates are all about? To know if you want to kiss them, or be their boyfriend?” Scorpius wanted her to stop speaking. “Don’t you want your date to go right?” 

“I-I don’t know what I want, okay? That’s what the date is for.”

“Exactly” said Rose smiling.

“I’m tired.” Scorpius finally interrupted. “I’m going to bed if you don’t mind.” He said to no one in particular, as he made his way to the dorms. He heard Albus calling after him, but he ignored him.

(...)

Scorpius was already in his pajamas when Albus entered the bedroom. Everyone else was still having dinner, so Scorpius was the only one in the room at the moment. 

“Sorry, Rose held me back.” Albus said as he closed the door.

“It’s okay.” He answered, sitting on his bed.

“Are you okay?” Albus looked at him a bit concerned.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” 

“I don’t know.” He bit his lip and seemed to consider something. He finally sighed and made his way to Scorpius bed. He sat next to him, kicking at the floor absently. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

Scorpius blinked at him. “Why are you asking me that?”

“You seemed weird when I told you...” He said, still looking down.

“I was just surprised, I didn’t know you liked him.” Scorpius was looking at his friend’s face. He noticed that he hadn’t really looked at him since that other night. Maybe because he felt awkward, maybe because he didn’t want to overstep, but as he looked at Albus he realized how distant they had been this last few days. This was the first time that they sat close to each other and had a quiet chat, and he felt a nostalgic pain at the idea of both of them drifting apart. 

“I don’t like him.” Albus stated. And he didn’t know why, but he felt his chest lighter at that. “But you said I should talk to him, and I think that it would be a good chance. He does seem nice, I guess.” 

Scorpius wasn’t sure of what he wanted to say. Albus was still looking at his shoes, and he looked sad. Scorpius felt a sting of pain in his heart.

Albus was so close, and he looked so vulnerable. He felt the sudden urge to hug him, to make things better. But Albus had asked him for space. 

At Scorpius’ silence, he continued. “I know this is awkward, but I’m gonna get over it, and I think this is a good chance for it, you know?” 

“Okay,” Said Scorpius. He didn’t know what he wanted. They both remained silent.

“Scorp?” Albus held his gaze to the ground.

“Yeah?”

“...I know I said I didn’t want you to hug me but...” He finally looked at him, and something broke inside of Scorpius. His eyes were shiny, and he looked exhausted. “Would you hug me now?”

Without saying a word, Scorpius closed the distance between them. “Of course, always.”

Albus laughed softly, and clung to him. Scorpius rested his chin on Albus‘ head, running his hand in soft circles on his back, the way he always did when his friend was in distress.

“I missed you.” Said Albus softly. Scorpius hadn’t gone anywhere, in fact, he had spent most of the last days with Albus, but somehow he knew exactly what his friend meant, and he didn’t like it. It was weird. He had been this past days next to Albus but he was still missing him, as if something were missing. 

And now, as he was hugging him for the first time in five days, he felt like coming home after a very long day. 

“Me too.” He finally said. He continued to run his fingers on his back absently. “You asked me for space.” He added as an explanation. 

“I know...” Albus started, “But...” He left the sentence hand the air.

Scorpius shift his head, so that now his check was resting on Albus' hair. “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He said. “So... just tell me when you want a hug, or anything at all. I don’t mind it. Really.”

“Can you just hold for a bit longer?” He asked softly.

“As long as you want.” He simply said. 

He felt Albus smile against his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but smile back and hold him tighter. Albus did the same, and so did him, and suddenly it was a competition to see who could crush the other one first while they both laughed. 

Scorpius was the first to pull back, laughing. His arms still lingered on Albus’ side. He was laughing too, and was now looking at him with the same shinny eyes as before, but now they shined with glee. 

They were close, Scorpius could smell Albus’ scent. He was full of it, and it made him feel warm inside. He could stay forever holding him and laughing.

He looked at the tiny wrinkles around Albus’ eyes, his white teeth and his dimples. This was the Albus he liked, the one he wanted to see every day. He hated himself so much for hurting his best friend.

“I don’t like it when you are sad,” He said softly. They were looking right at each other, and Scorpius felt Albus’ green eyes piercing him. “Your eyes look brighter when you smile.” His voice was barely a whispers

Albus was blushing now, and looked down for a second. He dropped his arms and avoided eye contact.

Scorpius felt suddenly very aware of every place in his body where Albus had touched him. It felt as if it burned. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Was it too...?”

Albus let out a breathy laugh. “No, no. It was okay, it was...” He blushed even deeper. “It was nice. A nice thing to say. It’s not you, it’s me. I can’t even take a compliment without...” He swallowed, still avoiding eye contact.

“I’m an idiot. It’s like all I can do is hurt you.” He felt his throat close. “I hate it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Albus almost whispered. This time he looked up at him. “In fact, you are the one that makes me happiest.” He said with a small smile.

Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat. “You make me the happiest, too.”

Albus held his smile for a second, and Scorpius felt the burning urge to close the distance again.

Albus finally looked down. “We are going to Hogsmeade this weekend. Riley and I.”

“Okay.” Scorpius couldn’t tear his eyes away from his friend. He felt that weird feeling in his stomach again. ‘You know what first dates mean: first kisses’ Rose voice resonated in his head. 

What if they kissed? What if Albus suddenly decided he liked him? What if they became boyfriends? Scorpius felt sick. 

But this was amazing, wasn’t it? If Albus got himself a boyfriend, that meant he wouldn’t be in love with Scorpius and things would be just as before.

But that meant he would be in love with someone else. Then things would never be the same. How could they? 

He was so selfish. 

He wanted to stay at night playing chess with Albus in the common room. He wanted to put his cold feet against his back and make him yelp. He wanted to rest his head on Albus’ shoulder while he read, and to hug him in the morning when he had a bad dream. He wanted to share sweets with him in the confines of their bed hangings, talking about anything and everything at the same time. And he wanted it not to be weird. 

He wondered if he should have just gone along with Albus’ feelings. If he should have said that he felt the same way. He could easily have dated Albus if that was what his friend wanted. Whatever it took to not lost him. But no. Albus deserved so much more than Scorpius’ fake feelings. He felt gross for just considering that. Albus deserved everything, he deserved the world, not Scorpius selfish possessiveness.

“I’m going to bed” He finally said. 

Albus was still staring at him. He worried his lip between his teeth. “Okay.” He got up and went to his own bed “Goodnight,”

“Goodnight.” He climbed on his bed, and before he could shut his curtains he heard Albus calling him. 

“Scorp?” He was sitting on his own bed.

“Yeah?”

He looked at him for a second. “Are we okay?”

Scorpius smiled at him. “Of course Al.” He paused, and look at his duvet before answering. “You’ll always be my best friend, no matter what.”

Despite everything, Albus smiled. “You too” He said, and Scorpius smiled at him, before finally closing his curtains.

(...)

He was laying on his bed. His roommates had arrived shortly after their talk and he could heard them around the room.

“Shut. Up.” It was McCollins, he always had a bad mood. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

He heard his other roommates’ mumble something back, and Coleman already snoring.

Scorpius turned around, looking up at the canopy of his bed. One recurrent thought couldn’t leave his mind. 

Albus falling out of love with him meant that he was going to fall in love with someone else. 

He was sure he wanted the first one, or so he thought. But he didn’t know what to make out of the second part of that statement.

Albus and he were close, they did everything together. Of course Albus could have other friends, but a boyfriend was different. He would want to spend time alone with him, and why would Albus go to Scorpius for comfort when he could go to his very own boyfriend? He would probably have other ways of comforting him, much more effective that a back rub. Scorpius felt sick at the thought.

What if Albus didn’t need him anymore? What if he became that casual type of friend? The one you’d go to when you wanted to play board games or do some homework with them, and then forgot about their existence.

He thought about Albus cuddling on the common room with someone else (it wasn’t a rare situation, many students sneaked their friends and dates into their common rooms) He thought about Albus going to someone else when he was anxious, about someone else combing his hair and fixing his tie.

He thought about Albus forgetting him.

Scorpius closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

He imagined Albus sitting at night with someone else while they played chess. The fireplace was on and they were laughing. He imagined Albus blushing, big green eyes shining with fear and expectations. ‘I love you,’ He would say to them. 

He imagined those green eyes, the same he had seen that other night, wrinkling as his smile widened because that person did love him back.

He wanted to puke.

Scorpius turned around, hugged his own pillow, and somehow managed to shut his brain enough to fall asleep. And if he let down a few tears, he pretended he didn’t notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius needs to get his head in the game ASAP
> 
>  
> 
> Once again, kudos and comments make me really happy! Any feedback is appreciated
> 
> I wrote this before falling asleep, so pardon my mistakes.
> 
> Oh and I have no self-control and decided to post this chapter right away. I suppouse I should be waiting longer between updates, but who knows? But please let me know if you think I'm posting too fast!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Albus' POV

Albus woke up early in the morning, and he guessed that all the stress from this whole situation was finally hitting him, because in no other scenario he would have woken up all by himself before ten, for the second time this week.

He sat up and yawned, stretching his arms. His mind was still replaying last night scenario. 

It had felt nice to hug Scorpius, to feel the vibration of his body as he spoke. He remembered his face, inches apart from his own. He could have sworn he saw something in Scorpius’ eyes, and for a slit second of solid stupidity, he had the urge to kiss him. 

He dropped dead on his bed again, letting a huff as his body hit the mattress. 

Scorpius had made it very clear, he didn’t love him, he didn’t even want to think about it. Then why was he holding him so tenderly? Why was he looking at him in the eyes and talking to him softly?

‘No.’ Albus thought. ‘Why are you still thinking he was acting that way?’ He smothered himself with his pillow. ‘You asked him for a hug, and he gave you one. He was close to you because you clung to him and didn’t let him go for a single moment as you spoke.’ He needed to stop making up this scenarios, he had been doing the same for the past year and this was where it had led him. 

But why did it felt so right, then? Why was it so right to just stay between his arms and talk in hushed voices? 

Albus got up abruptly and rushed to the bathroom. He needed to get a hold of himself. He couldn’t keep going this way.

Was this all worth it? Was this worth losing Scorpius? Six years of friendship ruined for a stupid crush? No. He was not going to let it happen. He looked up to himself in the mirror. He was going to go out with Riley this Saturday, have a nice time with the guy, and pretend his heart didn’t melt when Scorpius so much glanced his way.

He could do it. 

(…)

He was sitting in the library, Rose and Scorpius in their usual seats. They were no longer doing homework, Rose was now excitedly talking about this new strategy that her captain had come up with. Scorpius seemed interested, but Albus was just making sure that Mrs. Pince didn’t hear them. 

She was at her usual desk, more worried about a group of seventh years next to the window.

Albus was about to return his attention to the conversation happening next to him, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone entering the library.

Riley was walking next to Jessica and he seemed to notice him. He smiled shyly and waved in his direction, before Jessica gave him a little shove. Albus smiled at that, and he could notice the boy blushing even from this distance. Riley turned around and whispered something to his friend, before being turned around and practically dragged to the table by Jessica.

“Hi,” She said. She had a soft voice, kind of sweet and melody. Her pale skin contrasted to the tanned looks of the boy next to him. Though she wasn’t as pale as Scorpius, he noted. Her hair was pitch black and straight, and fell down to her waist. The last thing Albus noted was her blue eyes. Albus could tell she was an attractive girl, and most of the boys in his class seemed to think the same, but she had always been quiet and reserved, as far as Albus knew. “Mind if we sit here?” 

“No, not at all.” He said.

The girl sat down next to Rose, smiling at the two other friends. Riley sat next to her, across from Albus. 

“Hey” He said.

“Hey,” Albus smiled at him, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was nervous or something else. 

“So…” Jessica started, “What were you doing?”

“Oh, we just finished some Arithmancy homework” Rose said “It’s one of the few classes we have together.”

“Ugh, I hate that,” She said “I’m more of a history kind of gal”

“It’s not my favourite, but I can’t complain” Rose shrugged. “Scorpius here is a history nerd. He is our expert in the matter” She smiled at him.

“So I’ve heard.” Jessica said.

Scorpius had been weirdly quiet. Albus knew his friend had the tendency of over speaking, especially when meeting new people. It was just the way he was, always so excited to make friends. The fact that he had not said a word was strange, more now that they had mention history. Scorpius should have been listing fifteen facts about Bathilda Bagshot by now. 

“Scorpius, right?” Jessica smiled at him.

“Huh?” He blinked at her, then blushed. “Yes, Scorpius Malfoy. But you know that. I mean, we have potions together. Jessica, right?”

“Jessica Young,” She looked back at Rose “I guess we don’t have to do the whole name introduction, right?”

Rose smiled back at her “I guess we can obviate that part.”

“Good.” She opened her book. “Riley and I have some transfiguration homework, you have anything like that?” 

“No,” Said Rose, “But it won’t hurt us to go over some of our notes.”

“Great,” Jessica seemed nice, but just as Rose, Albus could feel like she had ulterior motives to her smiles. Apparently cunningness wasn’t a Slytherin exclusive trait. 

The five of them started to work on their respective tasks.

(…)

It had been fifteen minutes when he felt Riley’s eyes on him. He looked up, and saw the boy duck his head quickly. He smiled at him, and focused on his notes again, but this time he notice Scorpius looking at Riley.

Albus looked at his friend and frowned. Scorpius looked back at him, and held his gaze for a second, before Rose interrupted. 

“Everything’s fine?” 

“Huh? Yeah,” Albus said. Scorpius was back at his notes again. 

He was going to say something, before Riley got his attention.

“Umm, Al…bus.” He winced.

Albus looked back at him, this whole head movements had already made him dizzy. 

“Jessica told me you were good at potions…” He started

“I can get by, yeah.” He simply said.

“He is the best in our class.” Rose said proudly. “Must have gotten it from his name sake, eh?”

Albus frowned at her. “Scorpius and you are close behind, and if anything, I got it from my grandmother. She was pretty good at it herself.” 

Rose smiled “Close behind, yeah, but still not as good.” 

He turned his attention to Riley. “Do you needed something?” 

“Actually yes,” He looked nervous. “I’m not very good at it, you’ll see. I was wondering if you could help me with my essay.” 

“Right now?” Albus blinked at him

“Or when you are able!” He hurried “I have time, it’s not due tomorrow.”

“No, no. I was actually pretty bored with this notes” He smiled at Riley.

“Cool.” He smiled back.

Both of them remained silent. 

“Maybe you should go to another table? So you can work calmly?” Offered Jessica.

“Huh…” Riley started.

“Yeah, I would like to read in peace, you know? Both of you talking over here wouldn’t be nice.” Rose backed up Jessica.

Riley and Albus looked at each other for a second. Albus glanced at Scorpius for an opinion, but his friend had not looked up from his notes. He was scribbling absently, as if this whole conversation wasn’t happening. 

“Okay,” Said Albus. He got up and Riley followed him, and they settled for the nearest table, the one behind Jessica and Rose. Albus decided that he didn’t want to give his back to his friends, so he sat facing them. He could see the back of Rose and Jessica’s heads. He also noticed Scorpius straight across him, he was still focused on his notes and refused to acknowledge anything around him. 

Albus was still looking at his friend when Riley sat next to him. “Something’s wrong?” He asked, following Albus gaze. 

“Yes. It is.” He turned his attention to Riley.

Riley looked at him, then back at Scorpius. “Is he…?” 

“What?”

“I don’t know… weird about it? Like, does he like me?” He seemed worried.

Albus blinked at him. “Why do you ask that?” 

“I don’t know, he seemed off. And I know it’s not my business but they say you should get along with your boyfriend’s friends and- I mean.” He turned suddenly very, very red. “I…“ His eyes were so big that Albus was worried they might pop out. “S-Sorry, Jessica gave me those weird teen magazines and I… I just quoted this phrase that I read the other that without thinking, I didn’t meant to…”

Albus couldn’t help it. He let out a big laugh, gaining the attention of a few students and a hush from Mrs. Pince. Riley looked mortified. “I’m sorry,” Albus said quickly. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise” He was still smiling. “It’s just… It’s funny how you worry so much about me. I promise I’m not a big deal. In fact, I’m a loser. It doesn’t matter what I think” He finished with a warm smile.

“It does matter to me…” Riley said, looking down. He was still blushing, but not so much now. 

Albus felt suddenly very self-conscious. He didn’t know what he should make out of Riley’s feelings. He was nice, and not bad looking. He liked him, but he wasn’t sure if he felt that way. He wondered if this was how Scorpius felt about him, and he couldn’t help the sting of pain at the comparison. 

“Well, I think you are really cool, for what it counts.” And it wasn’t a lie. 

“I think you are really cool too,” He said, looking up at Albus. They smiled at each other for a second, before he turned his head back to the essay that Riley had left on the table.

Before he could do as much as pick it up, he notice Rose looking back. She was frowning at him, looking somewhat confused and concerned. 

‘What?’ He mouthed at her. She glanced between Riley and him before turning around. Albus was left baffled. 

“Anyway,” Riley continued. “About the essay…”

(…)

Time passed before he could notice, and they were interrupted by Rose.

“It’s already time for Dinner.” She said.

Albus blinked at her. “Really?” He hadn’t even notice. He had been working on Riley’s essay and had found out that Riley and he had more in common than he thought. He was happy by his discovery, maybe it meant that this whole idea could work. I mean, he wasn’t that disgusted at the idea of dating him. 

“Yeah.” Jessica said with a big smile. “We finished our homework long ago, we didn’t wanna interrupt. You two seemed to be having fun.” 

Riley glared at her. “We were just doing homework”

“Right,” She said. “We can’t complain, though. We had some time to talk to each other and discuss some Quidditch stuff.”

“You are on the team?” Albus asked.

“Chaser.” She said.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t know. I’m not that much into Quidditch…”

“It’s okay.” She reassured her. “Anyway, shall we go?”

“Yes, of course.” He got up and was about to pick up his stuff when he noticed something. “Where’s Scorpius?”

Rose remained silent. “He said he was tired.”

“He left?” Albus frowned.

“About an hour ago…” She added.

Albus felt his stomach twist. An hour? He hadn’t even notice. 

Jessica looked confused. “Everything’s cool?”

“Yes,” Albus reassured her. “Let’s just go, I’m hungry.”

As they made their way through the corridors, Riley made a point of walking far away from the girls, so he could talk to Albus. “Is he mad at me?”

“Who?” Albus glanced at him.

“Scorpius.” 

Albus blinked. “Why would him?”

“He didn’t seem thrilled to see me.” He kept looking forward. “I mean I don’t really know him so I don’t know, but it felt that way…”

Albus frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, he was the one who told me to talk to you so…” He blushed a bit.

“Did he?” He was smiling now.

“Yeah, he said you looked nice.” He didn’t want to tell Riley too much about it. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel like mentioning Scorpius around Riley. It felt strangely personal. 

Riley looked really happy. “Wow. I was worried that he’d hate me.”

“Why?” Albus didn’t know why, but he was very interested in that concept.

“Well, you too seem really close. I mean, everyone knows you two have been friends since always.” He shrugged. “And you know, best friends don’t always like when the other one gets a girlfriend, or boyfriend…” He blushed. “Maybe he feels left out, I don’t know.”

Albus was now looking at him.

“I mean,” Riley said. “It’s none of my business. I just don’t want you to have any trouble because of me…”

He stared at Riley. He was really a nice person, and Albus felt kind of guilty. 

“No, I don’t think it’s that.” Albus said, but truly he had no idea. “Maybe he was just tired, and we are just overreacting.”

Riley laughed. “Yeah, maybe. My friends always tell me I’m a bit dramatic…” He blushed.

Albus smiled at him. Maybe he could really like Riley. He was truly nice, and they did get along pretty well. Albus had been talking with him for the last hour and their conversation came out really natural, he very was funny and down to earth. 

He glanced at Riley when the boy had already turned his attention to the girls in front of them. He really wasn’t bad looking either. Quite attractive someone could say. In fact, he ticked all the boxes for a perfect boyfriend. And as he turned his head to smile back at Albus, he couldn’t help but blush a bit. Maybe this was really going to work. He felt his heart flutter, maybe he actually liked Riley.

They entered the great hall, and Albus guessed that he had been really focused on Riley, because the next thing he knew was that he bumped into someone.

“S-Sorry, I-I…” He looked up, and felt his heart stop for good. “Scorpius.”

Scorpius looked down at him, surprised. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” He said, smiling at him with that smile of his, which was a little way too jittery and tentative to be considered charming, but just the right amount of Scorpius-ness to be perfect. Albus knew in that moment that he was fucked. There was no way anyone could ever be half as perfect as Scorpius. 

“N-No. I wasn’t paying attention…” Albus couldn’t keep his eyes of his friend, it felt as if a magnet was holding him in place. 

Scorpius looked back at Riley before answering, “It’s okay.” He reassured him with a smaller smile.

Albus felt suddenly the urge to explain that ‘No. That’s not what I meant.’ But he felt like it would be wrong.

Rose was the one to interrupt. “Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah, I just finished.” He said.

Albus looked back at his friend. “You had dinner without me?” He hadn’t meant to sound so accusatory, but he couldn’t help it. They never had a meal without the other, never. At first it was because they didn’t want to be alone, especially with all the bullies. But later on it was more of a habit, he didn’t like the idea of eating alone. Well, he was not going to eat alone now, but without his best friend it really didn’t count.

“Ah, yes.” Scorpius said, and maybe he understood what Albus was feeling, because he seemed somewhat guilty. “I didn’t know at what time you’d finish the essay, so I decided to eat.”

He couldn’t really argue with that, it was the most logical choice of action. But it still felt wrong for reasons Albus couldn’t quite explain. Scorpius had to wait for him. He had to. Except he did not, he didn’t have to wait for Albus to eat, that was stupid. 

“Okay.” Albus said. “Sure, of course.” 

And this time he was glad that Rose interrupted. “Okay, so shall we go? I’m hungry.”

The three of them agreed, and Scorpius excused himself. “Okay, so, see you at the dorms.” He said at Albus.

He wanted to ask if he was going to wait for him, or if he was just going to fall asleep, which was a stupid thing to be mad about, but Albus was suddenly feeling very angry at his friend. “Okay,” He simply said.

Scorpius nodded and turned around, and Albus could feel his anger turn into sadness as he watched him go.

“So…” Riley started, who looked a bit confused. Albus guessed he was going to have to answer to more questions while they ate. “Which table?” 

The four of them looked at each other, realizing that they all belonged to different houses. There was a moment of silence before they all burst into laughter.

“Well, there’s that for house unity,” Jessica laughed. 

“Let’s just throw a coin?” Rose proposed. But Albus was no longer paying attention to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, kudos and comments motivate me to keep writting! <3
> 
> I have a few ideas of how this is all going to play out, but it depends on the level of angst I want to add. However, expect a good dose of it anyway.  
> And wow, this one breaks the rule, I think this is the longest chapter so far and it's from Albus' POV haha  
> (And yes, there's a new character, kind of, because let's be honest, this boys wouldn't act on their feelings if there wasn't a good friend supporting them.)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius POV

Albus was looking across the great hall, and Scorpius didn’t have to look up to know that Riley was probably waving at him. It was Friday morning, so they had two free periods, and Scorpius had proposed to have breakfast, so they could then enjoy the morning. He was now regretting it.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about this whole thing. Albus was still looking at the Hufflepuff table, and it annoyed him. He had this awkward smile on his face that made Scorpius want to do something, like tell him to stop. 

Scorpius glanced back at Riley, who seemed to be trying to say something to Albus all the way across the hall.

Albus looked happy. And it made Scorpius feel like shit. 

“So…” Scorpius started. He was playing with his food, trying to find the right words. “How are things going?”

Albus looked back at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean Riley…” He said, not really looking at him.

“Oh, huh…” Albus seemed uncomfortable. “It’s cool, I guess…”

“Right.” He looked at the Hufflepuff table. Riley was now talking to Jessica, who seemed very amused by his words. 

Scorpius shoved some eggs into his mouth, mostly to have something to do. 

“Scorp…” Albus started.

He looked up at him. “Hm?”

“About yesterday…” Albus looked at his own food. “Were you mad?”

Scorpius swallowed, and opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it again. “No…”

“Please don’t lie to me.” Albus was now staring at him. “Don’t.”

His eyes were really intense, and Scorpius had to look away. “I…” A part of him told him that it was stupid to lie, there was no point to it. He sighed. “I guess…” He run his hand through his hair. “It’s stupid, really… It’s just… We always study together, you know? And it was weird… I don’t know…” When he looked up, Albus was smiling.

“You were jealous!” Scorpius could tell that he was trying not to laugh.

“I was not!” Though he could feel his face getting hotter.

“Yes you were!” And he burst into laughter. 

“Shut up.” He looked away, his face red. Scorpius very notably pouted. “Okay, I’m sorry if I don’t like it when my best friend ignores me for a guy!” 

Albus calmed down, and was now smiling very openly at him. “Scorpius…” He looked at Albus. “You are very stupid if you think I could put anyone before you.” Scorpius could feel his heart doing a funny thing. He swallowed. “You are my best friend.” Oh. Right. 

Scorpius looked down at his food again, but he felt Albus’ eyes on him. When he turned to him, he was still smiling. “What?”

Albus looked away, rubbing the back of his nape. His smile was a bit smaller this time, but it was still there. “Nothing…” He finally sighed. “Are you done? If I remember correctly, I was supposed to be beating your ass at chess right now.”

Scorpius raised his chin, putting on his best Malfoy face. “Oh, we’ll see about that, Potter.” 

Albus smiled wide at him, and suddenly stood up. “Mark my words, and I don’t want you crying at the end.” He grabbed Scorpius hand and almost yanked him up. “Come on.” 

“H-Hey,” Scorpius tried to keep up, still smiling. “I didn’t know you were so excited about being humiliated.” 

He smiled back at him, still walking. “We need to hurry, I plan on beating you at least 3 times. We’ll see who’s humiliated then.” 

“Excuse me? I was not the one who…” He stopped.

Albus looked back at him, a smile still on his face. “What?” He turned back. “Oh, Riley. Hey.” He stopped in front of the boy, who was standing outside the great hall.

“Albus.” He smiled at him, and then seemed to notice Scorpius. “Hi.” He said while looking at him. 

“Hey.” Scorpius said, his voice low. 

Albus seemed to notice that he was still holding Scorpius’ hand, and quickly let go. He awkwardly wiped his hand on his pants, and Scorpius felt extremely annoyed at that. “What’s up?” He said to Riley. 

“I just wanted to ask you if you were doing something right now…” 

Scorpius looked down, suddenly very interested in his shoes. 

“Oh,” Albus waited for a second. “Well,”

“I’ll let you two talk alone.” Said Scorpius.

“Wait,” Albus turned to him.

“No, really, I’ll just be over there” He pointed to his head to the other side of the corridor. 

Albus looked at him for a second, when suddenly someone crashed outside the great hall.

“Albus!” Lily practically shouted. She turned to Scorpius. “Hi.” He awkwardly waved at her. 

Hugo was with her, and he had a huge grin on his face. “You’ll lose your mind Alby.” 

Albus turned a visibly shade of red. “Don’t call me that, Hugo.”

Hugo’s grin turned even bigger, and walked up to his cousin. “So who’s this?” He looked at Riley.

“Oh,” Albus looked back at the boy in question. “Just a friend…”

Hugo looked at the Hufflepuff boy for a second, before shrugging. He didn’t seem to think twice about it. “I’m Hugo.”

Riley looked very nervous. “Riley, Riley Aaron.” 

Lily seemed to be about to explode. “For Merlin’s sake! Who cares?!” Riley looked very taken back. Scorpius thought about telling him that Lily didn’t say it in a rude way, but he was suddenly very pleased with his reaction. “Al, look at this!” She practically shoved a package into Albus’ arms. 

Albus looked at it for a moment. “Okay?”

Hugo almost cried out. “Would you open it?!” 

He did so, and his eyes almost popped out of his skull.

“Uncle George send it. Don’t tell anyone, I’m sure Grandma would kill him.” The box had a brand new collection of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes stuff. “It hasn’t come out to the market yet.” Hugo added, proudly. 

“Holy…” Albus was looking through the box, scanning at everything with his eyes. “I’m not sure this is even legal.” 

“Legal or not, you are not touching it.” Rose startled everyone. “I knew you two were up to no good. That smile can never be a good sign.” She looked at the youngests.

“I told you we better hid it!” Lily whispered at Hugo.

“George said we had to share…” Hugo whispered back.

“Uncle George sent you that?!” Rose accused.

“Huh…” Hugo was very red.

“Great job, idiot.” Lily punched him in the arm.

Albus was very red two, and he looked back at Riley. “So… My family.” He added poorly. 

Riley was looking at the box in Albus’ arms. “Are those the pills that change your hair colour?” He asked.

Lily seemed very pleased and proud. “Yes! And this ones adapt to your humour!”

The conversation suddenly turned into a very excited explanation of every artifact, potion, pill or Merlin knows what that was inside the package. 

Scorpius took a step back, and let the group talk on their own. Rose sighed, and apparently gave up on the subject. Though Scorpius knew that she wasn’t going to let them go that easily. 

His attention turned to Albus, who still held the box in his arms. Riley was very close to him, as he inspected the content of it while Lily and Hugo talked.

“You don’t get to be mad, you know?” Rose said.

“What?” He looked back at her.

“If you don’t like Albus,” She continued, “You don’t get to be mad if someone else wants him.” 

Scorpius blinked at her, and then turned his attention to his best friend. His cheeks were red, and he seemed to be avoiding Riley eyes. Scorpius felt dizzy.

“Albus is great.” Rose kept talking. “It’s not a surprise that he would find someone quickly.”

He felt suddenly very small. 

Riley seemed to fit just right, he was smiling and nodding at Lily. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt very betrayed by Lily, even though she wasn’t doing anything.

“If he’s happy then I’m happy.” Scorpius said, his eyes now on his best friend, who was smiling at his cousin. “That’s all that matters to me.”

“Scorpius...” Rose started. 

“Scorpius!” Lily cried out at the same time. “Come check this out, you big dumbass! Don’t get mad if we call firsts on the best stuff, then!”

Scorpius smiled at Lily. “Okay, okay, let me see.” And he approached the group, but could still feel Rose’s eyes on him. 

(…)

Lily and Hugo were now walking away, taking their chance now that Rose seemed distracted.

“We’ll discuss who gets what later.” Hugo whispered, and quickly run away with Lily.

Rose sighed. “I’m too old for this.”

“You are 16.” Jessica said with a smile. Apparently she had been waiting for Riley, but decided to check on him since he was taking too long. 

“And yet it feels like a lifetime…” Rose added dramatically. “Anyway,” She turned to the three boys. “See you at lunch. Or dinner.” She looked at Jessica with a smile. “I haven’t decided.” Her smile suddenly dropped. “Plus I need to tell you something.” And she very subtly glanced at Albus, though Scorpius noticed. 

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “I’m all ears, then.” And the two girls walked away.

The three of them were left alone once again, and this time Riley broke the silence. “So… I was wondering if you wanted to go to the library. I still haven’t finish my essay…” 

Scorpius almost sighed, and took a step back.

“Oh.” Albus said. “I…”

“Go.” The two of them turned to Scorpius. “Really, it’s okay.”

Albus held Scorpius gaze. “But… what about?” 

“It’s fine, we can hang out later.” He smiled at Riley, then turned to Albus. “I won’t hold you back.” And before his friend could say something, he walked away.

(…) 

He was sitting on the common room floor, which was surprisingly empty. Well, it wasn’t a surprise actually. Everyone was in class, and the sixths years that had free periods were probably sleeping in or enjoying the nice weather.

It’d been at least half an hour, and Scorpius was absently moving the chess pieces through the board. They seemed annoyed, and one knight hit him with his sword, as if he was trying to tell him to play properly or stop fooling around. He thought the metaphor could apply to his life in general. 

He suck his finger where the knight had hit him, and laid back against the couch. He couldn’t get Albus out of his mind, which wasn’t anything knew, to be honest, but this time it was for much different reasons. 

Scorpius closed his eyes and sighed. He imagined Albus sitting with Riley, smiling at him as he pretended to be focusing on his essays. It hurt.

He sat back up, looking right at the fireplace. It hurt. Scorpius had to admit it. He didn’t like it. 

‘You don’t get to be mad.’ Rose had said, and she was right. He couldn’t monopolize Albus.

He laid back again against the couch, this time a little bit too harsh. “Ouch” He rubbed his head. 

He sighed. Scorpius thought about all this years he’d been with Albus. He thought about every single hug they shared, every night they had fell asleep on each other’s beds. He thought about every time he saw his best friend cry, and every time he cried too. About every time that Albus zoned out in class and he had to kick him under the table to get his attention. 

He thought about every time that he was so anxious about something that he forgot to eat, and Albus was there reminding him to do so like a concerned mother. About every time he almost tripped on the stairs because he was too excited talking to Albus to pay attention. He wasn’t sure he could survive without his best friend.

He remembered his first ride home, how much he was already missing Albus, even though he had barely known the boy for a couple of months. He remembered how he felt the next time he saw him on the train station. All the excitement and joy inside of him. His mother could easily see through him at that time, and he remembered feeling embarrassed at how much he wanted to run to Albus. 

He felt his eyes fill with tears.

What if Albus found someone else to hug when he needed to? What if there was someone else falling asleep next to him when he had a nightmare? What if Albus didn't need him anymore to help him with his homework, or to talk him out of his own thoughts when he was getting too worked up about something?

And what would he do without Albus? He wasn’t sure he knew how to survive without him. Maybe this was he fault, maybe he shouldn’t have become so dependent on Albus. But then again, he never thought his friend would leave him. They were best friends, and they would always be. They promised. 

‘You don’t get to be mad.’ Rose had said. But she was wrong.

Albus was everything to him. He was his first friend, and even nowadays it felt like he was the only real one. Sure, he talked to his classmates and roommates a lot more, and he had Rose now, even Lily. But no one was Albus. And he knew that no one could ever be. 

His eyes were now dangerously filled with tears. But this was due to happen, right? Even if nothing changed and they were always best friends forever. Albus would eventually get a girlfriend… well, boyfriend. And Scorpius would too, right? They talked about that before, they even joked about it.

But one thing was joking about it and other one was living it in full experience. 

Albus would fell in love, and then they would finish Hogwarts, and he would move out with his boyfriend and get a job and pay taxes and do all that adult stuff. And Scorpius wouldn’t be part of it. And maybe he would get married, and have a family. And he would slowly forget about Scorpius. He wouldn’t be there to hug him when he had a nightmare, they wouldn’t have breakfast together or play chess late at night. Because they would have separate lives.

He remembered that other time-line, the one where Albus didn’t exist. He remembered the loneliness. He remembered the desperation he felt when he realized that no matter how bad things were, Albus wasn’t there to make it better. He remembered how much he had missed his best friend.

Scorpius could feel the tears down his cheeks. But that was normal, right? Not that Albus would actually disappear from his life, but he would get his very own life. One apart from Scorpius’s. That’s how life worked.

Then why did it hurt so much? 

The door suddenly opened, and he quickly sat straight. “Albus?” He looked at his friend, and very quickly tried to compose himself.

“Hey, I was… Are you okay?” He stopped walking, and stared at him. 

“Ah, yes.” He swallowed, and run his hand through his hair. He could tell that his eyes were probably red. “The knight hit me.” Well, it wasn’t a lie. He showed Albus his finger. “They hit harder than you’d expect.” 

Albus looked at him for a second, before he finally walked up to his friend. He sat in front of him, the chess board between them. He picked up one of the knights “Ah yeah,” He said, frowning at the small statuette. “A true menace.” 

Scorpius couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, don’t underestimate their power.” 

“Oh, I would never.” He answered with a smile, before putting down the knight. The statuette seemed low-key annoyed. 

“What are you doing here?” Scorpius finally asked. 

Albus sighed. “Honestly, I should be mad at you.” He said without warning. Scorpius blinked at him. “The only free period of the week and you wanted me to spend it in the library? I’m almost insulted, Scorp.” 

“I thought…” He began.

“That I’d rather be doing a potion essay than playing chess?” Albus smirked at him. 

Scorpius just pouted and looked away. 

“It was a very wise move, actually.” Albus said with a smile. Scorpius looked back at him, confused. “You almost got away, but I’m still going to kick your ass.” Albus said defiantly.

“W-Wha…?” Scorpius frowned. “Excuse me, I was sparing you.” He faked an offense. “I didn’t feel like humiliating you this early in the morning…”

Albus was now grinning at him. “OH, yeah. SURE.” He arranged the pieces on the board. “Nice plan, actually.” He started to imitate Scorpius voice. “You two go ahead, I’ll leave you alone.” It sounded nothing like Scorpius voice. “Almost worked Malfoy, but I’m not letting you go.”

Scorpius smiled at him. “Okay.” And he couldn’t help the warm in his chest.

Albus looked back at him, a smile still on his face. He felt like he should look away, but he couldn’t. 

“So…” Albus finally said. “I guess I’ll go first.”

(…)

Scorpius woke up to the sound of someone rummaging the bedroom. He opened his bed hangings and noticed that Albus’ bed was empty.

“Al?” He asked.

“Hey,” Albus stood up from where he was sitting on the floor, next to his trunk. “Black or blue?” He held up two sweaters.

Scorpius blinked at him, still asleep. “What’s going on?”

Albus paused for a second before answering. “It’s Saturday.” Scorpius just looked at him. “Riley.”

“Oh.” Scorpius swallowed.

“Yeah…” He turned around and continued to do whatever he was doing with his clothes at this point.

Scorpius stood up from his bed and looked at his best friend. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans, the ones that fitted him just right and were tight, but not too tight. Scorpius frowned. Were friends supposed to know which pair of jeans fitted best on the other? He blushed a bit. 

Albus was wearing a plain white t-shirt, and a slightly oversized flannel with grey-ish and green tones over it. He had also rolled up his sleeves. 

He was now looking at the mirror and holding the two sweaters in front of him “I don’t know how cold it’ll be…” He frowned. “Or should I just bring a jacket?” He looked back at his friend.

He looked good. More than good, Scorpius noted. He didn’t know if he had ever seen him wearing that flannel. Scorpius always liked when Albus wore oversized clothing, it made him look cute and slightly stylish. 

He cleared his throat and looked back at his friend’s face. “Umm, both?” 

Albus frowned at him. “A sweater and a jacket?” 

“You are always cold when we go to Hogsmeade.” Scorpius said. “At least a scarf and a jacket.” He shrugged. 

“It’s not that cold…” Albus protested.

“You always say the same.” He crossed his arms. “And next thing I know you are shivering halfway there.”

Albus blushed. “Okay, okay…” He said and went on to pick a scarf. He held two in his arms. 

“The green one,” Scorpius said. “It… It looks nice.” 

Albus nodded and stood in front of the mirror one more time. 

“Isn’t it a bit too early?” Scorpius noted.

“Well, yeah…” He was now touching his hair. Scorpius almost rolled his eyes. How many times was Albus going to fight with his hair? It was a lost battle. Plus, it already looked nice. Scorpius damned himself at that comment, and tried not to think about it. “That’s kind of the point.” He sighed. “I didn’t want to go after lunch because everyone goes around that hour and…” He bit his lip. “I don’t want people… talking… You know.”

Scorpius nodded. Albus looked nervous. “What are you worried about?”

He seemed to think for a second. “I don’t think I thought this very well.” He turned to Scorpius. “What if like… my family finds out?”

Scorpius frowned. “Are you worried about your dad?”

Albus didn’t answer. “I don’t think Riley gets it.” He turned around. “It’s not like he had reporters following him around since he was born.” He gave him a small smile.

“Did he get mad at you?”

“No, not exactly.” Albus shrugged. 

“Well, he knows who you are. It shouldn’t be a surprise.”

“Yeah, but not everyone is used to it.” He paused. “My last name means drama.”

Scorpius smiled. “Tell me about it.” 

They both laughed.

“Well,” Scorpius started. “You are a package deal.”

“Oh, I come with a shit ton of issues.” He smiled. 

“And it’s one hundred percent worth it.” Scorpius reassured him. “Plus, it’s nothing out of this world.”

“Not for you.” He said. “But Riley is in for a quite a ride.” 

Scorpius smiled at him. “Hey, best ride in the world I would say.” He step in close, putting his hand on Albus’ shoulder. “Is that what you are nervous about?”

Albus looked up at him and bit his lip. “A lot of things, actually.” He sighed, “So you could say that it’s the usual.” He looked at Scorpius once more. “I’m a fucking mess.”

“No you are not.” He put both of his hands on his arms. “You are Albus Severus Potter, and you are amazing.” Albus was now looking straight at this face. 

“I’m not…” Albus looked down again. “I’m not. That’s it, I’m just not.” He was blushing. “Not really.”

He felt a sudden rush of a lot of things, but mostly, an overwhelming urge to tell his friend how wrong he was.

“Bullshit.” Albus eyes widened, and he looked up so fast he could have very much hurt his neck. Scorpius never cursed, but he thought it was still an overreaction. “You are the most amazing person I know.” Albus seemed just as shocked as before. “You are brave, kind, loyal and funny, and the fact that you cannot see that is completely bullshit. “ Albus was now Weasley red.

“I’m not…”

“You are top of our class in potions.” He started. “You are the most talented chess player that I know. You are always there for your friends and family when they need you, and despite trying to act aloof and distant, you always care about them.” Albus opened his mouth, but he cut him. “For Merlin’s sake, you practically saved the world back in fourth year!”

“Yeah, from a that mess I got us all into.” He said bitterly.

“From a mess WE got ourselves into. “ He corrected him. “And it doesn’t matter! I’ve never seen anyone so determined in my life. You were extremely brave, I don’t think anyone would have acted that way had they been in your place.” He paused, and spoke very softly. “We were disarmed, and she was very powerful.” Albus eyes were now looking directly at him. “But you still faced her, you tried to protect me when she…” His voice was barely a whisper, it was never easy to talk about that time.

“Scorpius…”

“You are extremely brave, and strong” He tried to hold himself. “And not just there. You always were. You were always there for me. Not once did you leave me alone, despite how easy it would’ve been for you. You put up with years of bullying just to defend me when you didn’t have to.”

Albus looked down. “I didn’t do it because I was altruist… I liked you, you were my first real friend.”

“And you were mine,” He assured him. “The best one I could have asked for.”

Albus smiled at him, his eyes a bit watery. “Okay…” He look down. “Okay,” He repeated. He took a step back. “I can do this.”

Scorpius suddenly remembered what this was all about. He felt very awkward. 

“So…” Albus looked at himself in the mirror, and then back at Scorpius. “How do I look?”

“Beautiful.” He blurted out. Albus turned very red, and so did him. “I-I, I mean…” He looked at Albus. His hair was sticking up all over the place and his eyes were still a bit shinny. His freckles were more noticeable now that he was blushing, and his oversized flannel made him look smaller. He was gorgeous. And Scorpius was tired. Though from what, he wasn’t sure. “You do,” He said. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but it felt right. “You look beautiful.” 

Albus seemed to be struck by a very powerful Stupefy. He was looking at Scorpius with his mouth slightly open, and he was red all the way down his neck. He made a motion to speak, and then stopped. 

He suddenly took a step, and seemed very determined. “Scorpius” But before he could continue, they heard someone moving in the bed nearest to them. 

Scorpius was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were not alone in the dorms. He could feel his face burning, and hoped that no one had heard them.

The bed hangings opened, and McCollins appeared. He was sitting on his bed, still under his duvet. He looked at the two of them while rubbing his eyes. 

“What time is it?” He yawned.

“Umm.” Scorpius looked at the clock in his nightstand. “Ten to nine.” 

“Shit.” Albus exclaimed. “It’s late.” He rushed to pick up his jacket.

“You going out?” McCollins was now looking at Albus’ clothes. 

“Um,” Albus blushed. “Yeah” He rushed to the door.

“Your jacket.” Scorpius said.

“Ah, yes.” Scorpius handed it to him. For a second, the two of them just looked at each other. “Thank you” He said, but made no move to leave.

“It’s nothing.” He assured him.

Albus looked at him, opened his mouth, but finally said “It’s late.”

“Yes of course.” He took a step back. “Good luck.”

He nodded, and left the room.

Scorpius stayed there, looking at the closed door. He finally turned back and made his way too his bed.

“You are not going?” McCollins was now looking at him. “You are still wearing pajamas.” He looked confused.

“I’m not.” He said. 

“Why?” He must be seriously sleepy. “You two had a fight?”

Scorpius frowned at him. “No. Why would we?” He was suddenly very annoyed. “He is going out on his own, okay, not big deal.” He said “It’s not like we are married.”

“Could’ve fooled me” McCollins muttered, before closing his bed hangings again. 

And despite not being a violent person, Scorpius felt the need to punch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this one took me longer to write. I had a lot of things that I wanted to include and I didn't know how to wrap it all up. I'm still not sure about how it turned out.
> 
> First of all, thanks to everyone who's leaving comments and kudos! I cannot believe the nice comments I'm receiving, they mean a lot to me! <33 They make this all worth it 
> 
> Now about the fic:  
> A lot of you seem very concerned about Riley, and I love it! It was my intention. Don't worry, I love him as much as you all do haha  
> Also, don't get mad at Albus! He is not a bad person, and he legitly likes Riley (too bad he could never be Scorpius...)  
> Keep in mind that Albus doesn't know what we do, so Scorpius feelings are a mistery to him.
> 
> This chapter was kind of hard for me, because as I said, there were a lot of things that I wanted to express. I think that Albus and Scorpius' relationship goes farther than any other friendship. They have a connection that is very hard to imitate. I hope I was able to protrait that.
> 
> There are at least two or three chapters left, and I don't want to spoil anything else. 
> 
> Oh, and Rose and Jessica are surely in the middle of all of this. 
> 
> (Also this chapter is almost 4.5k, the longest one so far! But to be honest I'm still not a 100% happy with it)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Albus' POV. (1/2)  
> This chapter will be in two parts.

Albus was making his way down the corridor, still baffled, when he stopped at the nearest window and rested against the windowsill.

‘You look beautiful.’ Scorpius’ voice resonated in his head. Before he could realize, his fingers were resting against his chest, and he could feel his heart racing. A tentative smile formed on his lips. ‘You do.’ He had confirmed. Albus was now smiling like an idiot.

He had felt his heart stop at the moment, and he was about to force and explanation out of Scorpius before McCollins interrupted. He didn’t know if he was glad that he did or if he hated him.

A loud noise sounded at the end of the corridor, and he was startled. He realize that he probably looked like an idiot, grinning at the floor like a mad man. He composed himself, and decided to continue walking.

Did Scorpius meant something? About him looking… beautiful? About everything? He remembered the whole conversation, it was playing on his head like a broken record. Albus slowed his pace. He had to. It had felt… It felt like something. He remembered Scorpius’ intense eyes on him, his hands on his shoulders. He could still feel the warmth of his hands where he had touched him. Albus heart was practically on his throat.

‘I don’t…’ This time his memory played a different scene, one that happened just a week ago, but felt like a lifetime. ‘If I had the smallest hint of it, I would. You know I would, but…’

Albus run his hand over his face. ‘I do love you. Please don’t hate me because it’s not the way you want me to.’ He swallowed.

What was he on? He had told Scorpius how he felt, hell, he had even insisted about it. Scorpius had made it very clear. Hadn’t he learnt his lesson? About reading in between lines and making up this weird fantasy in his head?

‘I don’t…’ Scorpius had repeated, many times that night. He thought he should’ve been mad at Scorpius, but he found that he didn’t have it in himself. He remembered Scorpius’ glassy eyes, his trembling lips as he asked Albus not to hate him. He could never hate him. He loved him way too much, even if it was destroying him.

He remembered what just happened. Did something change? Was it possible? Was it worth asking, or was he just going to make a fool of himself once again? Maybe it was worth it. Maybe Scorpius was worth it.

“Albus.” He almost jumped.

“Riley.” He almost shouted at the boy.

Riley looked at him for a second. “Are you okay?”

Albus looked at him. “Yes, yes.” He run a hand through his hair. “It’s just… It’s nothing.”

“Okay…” He didn’t seem sure. “You um…” He paused, and then gestured at Albus with this hand, embarrassed. “You look nice.”

Albus blinked at him, and suddenly remembered that this was supposed to be a date. He wondered how different it would be from their studying session. He had enjoyed them, but he had the feeling that one thing was doing homework in an almost casual manner, and other one was going on a date, with nothing but themselves. He was nervous, but maybe a little expectant.

He looked at Riley’s clothes, he hadn’t noticed before, but now that Riley had commented on his he automatically looked at what other boy was wearing. He had a pair of black jeans and caramel toned shirt with a jean jacket. He looked well dressed.

“You too,” He said. It was an objectively nice outfit, Albus thought. It did suit his complexion. He looked at Riley again, and yeah, he did look good. “I like your shirt.” He pointed out, and decided to leave his thoughts about Scorpius for later.

Riley blushed, “Thanks” He finally gestured to the door. “Shall we go, then?”

“Yes, of course.”

(…)

Riley was walking next to him. It was a bit chilly, he had to admit it. They walked a few blocks before Albus decided to put on his scarf.

“Are you cold?” Riley smiled at him.

“I just don’t do well with the weather in general.” He half joked. “Scorpius always says my inner thermostat must be broken.”

Riley smiled at him and nodded. “We are almost there, anyway.” They had just arrived, and were now entering the little town.

“So…” Riley said. “What about The Three Broomsticks?” They stopped at the entrance.

Albus bit his lip. He didn’t want to sound rude. “It sounds nice but…”

Riley sighed. “Too many people?”

Albus turned red. “Sorry…” He was now looking down.

“Nah, it’s okay.” He said, but he sounded a bit disappointed. “I get it. Let’s just walk around, then? And we can check if the place is too crowded or not…”

“That sounds nice.” Albus smiled at him.

“Great.” He grabbed Albus’ hand, and made his way into the town.

Albus looked down at their hands. He felt suddenly very weird. Now everyone would know that this was a date, that they weren’t just hanging out. He swallowed. But this was what people did on dates, right? His hand felt slippery. Dammit, was he already sweating? He decided to not think about it.

“So… did you finish your potions essay?” He commented.

“Oh, yes.” Riley said. "I don't think it meets your standars but... It'll do." He laughed, and their conversation turned into what was mostly both of them complaining about homework.

(..)

They had been walking for a couple of minutes, and Albus had almost forgotten that they were holding hands, when they stumbled across a group of fourth years. The bunch looked at them with what Albus could tell was a somewhat confused face. One of the girls looked at their hands, before not very subtly turning around to whisper to her friends.

“Let’s just see if The Three Broomsticks is available.” Albus mumbled, and tugged Riley’s hand.

They making their way to the pub when Riley spoke. “Must be weird.” Albus looked at him. “Being a Potter, I mean. Because of your dad.” Until this point Riley hadn’t mention his father, and he had been glad for it. Guess it was time to address the elephant in the room.

“Um, yeah…” He said awkwardly. “I’d like to tell you that you get used to it, but not really…”

“I can see why.” Riley said.

Albus frowned at him. “Why?”

“Oh, no, no.” He was blushing. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just, you didn’t want to go to The Three Broomsticks and now I can see why. You don’t seem to be a fan of attention…”

He nodded at Riley. He wasn’t being rude, or saying anything weird, but Albus just didn’t like to talk about it. Luckily Riley seemed to get the hint of it.

“Ah, look. It seems fine, no?” They were now standing outside the pub in question.

“Well, it is half past nine in the morning.” Albus said with a smile.

“Butterbeer for breakfast?” Said Riley.

Albus laughed “Sure, why not?”

(…)

He sat on the table near the fireplace. He liked the feeling of it, it reminded him of the one in the common room. He took of his jacket and scarf, and reminded himself to never tell Scorpius that he was right and that he ended up wearing both. Rather dead than letting him know he was right, as he always was. He smiled at his own dramatism.

Riley was ordering them some drinks, and he half wondered what Scorpius was doing. He was probably at the library by now. Maybe he was with Rose, but not likely. After his so called ‘crush’ on her in his fourth year, he had become very self-conscious around Rose, even though she thought it was the most amusing thing in the world and never made it weird. He tried to avoid her when he was alone, so he was probably sitting away from her. Or maybe in he had stayed in the dorms, that way he wouldn’t have to make up an excuse for Rose.

“What are you thinking?” Riley set the drinks on the table.

Albus almost jumped. Second time this day, Merlin.

“Sorry.” Riley said.

“Did I said that out loud?” He turned red.

This time Riley laughed, and he blushed even deeper. “It’s okay. And I’m truly sorry.” He was now smiling at him. “You seemed lost on your thoughts.”

“Ah, yeah…” He took his drink. “It’s just…” ‘Scorpius’, he finished in his mind. But that wasn’t probably something he should say. “Nothing.”

Riley didn’t press it, and he just took the seat next to Albus. The conversation went on smoothly, shifting between school, the nearest Quidditch match and their friends.

“Rose and Jessica seem to be getting along.” Albus commented.

“Oh, yeah.” Riley put down his drink. “Jessica seems happy to have someone to talk about Quidditch. None of us are big fan of Quidditch ourselves.” He continued. “Our group of friends, I mean. We are a weird group to be honest.”

“Yeah?” Albus asked, he was actually interested about that. “I don’t know about anyone but Jessica.”

“Oh, okay.” He paused. “Okay, so Jessica, you know her. Then there’s Melanie, she is actually Jessica’s cousin, and she is in Hufflepuff. They were best friends when they were kids, and she is the reason I met Jessica. I befriended Melanie in first year, and met Jessica through her.”   
Riley explained. Albus nodded, trying to keep track of the information. “They are both muggleborns. Bit of a shock to their families.”

“I bet.” Albus laughed.

“Yeah.” He laughed too. “The other Hufflepuff girl is Augusta.” He seemed to think something for a second. “She is a ‘pureblood’ ” He winced at the term. Albus wasn’t too fond of those tags either, he didn’t like categorizing people by their ‘blood statuses’. “So you can imagine the drama when she got into Hufflepuff.” He gestured with his hand. “And lastly there’s Kevin. The Gryffindor boy. He is my brother.”

Albus’ eyes winded. “I had no idea.”

“I know, he looks nothing like me.”

 

“Wow.” Albus whistled. “That’s a big group.”  
“Yeah,” Riley smiled. “What about you?”

“Me?” Albus said. “There’s not much. You probably know about my family.” Riley nodded. Albus tried not to feel weird about that. “We get along, and we got closer this last year. Mostly I hang out with Rose.” He paused. “She is a great friend.” He added with a smile. “And then Lily and Hugo are always there, too. But they are everywhere, to be honest. And Scorpius, of course.” He finished.

Riley seemed to wonder something. “You two are very close.”

Albus blinked at him. “Well… he is my best friend.” Albus tried not to blush. “Had been for six years so… so yeah, we are close…”

Riley nodded at him, but didn’t say anything else.

(…)

Time passed, and Albus had to admit that it didn’t feel different than their previous study sessions. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. It didn’t feel like a date, but he didn’t really know what a date should feel like, if he was a hundred percent honest.

“…And my uncle Charlie hasn’t touch a Pumpkin Pastry since then.” Albus finished his story.

“Oh my… That’s so gross!” He almost screamed, but he was laughing.

“You can bet on that.” Albus looked around the pub, it was significantly fuller than before.

Riley seemed to note that he was uncomfortable because he asked if he wanted to go for a walk.

“Totally.” Albus said with a smile. He reached into his jacket for his money.

“Oh, no. It’s on me.” Riley stopped him.

He paused and looked at him. “No, it’s okay, I can…”

“I insist.” He added with a smile. Albus didn’t know how he felt about that. Maybe it was because people always wanted to give free stuff to his family when they went out, and it made his dad really uncomfortable, but he wasn’t fond of the idea of Riley paying for him. He liked to pay for his own stuff. Scorpius and he always split the bills when they went out. But this was different, this was a date. And Riley was in fact the one to ask him out, so maybe that was how things were done?

“Okay,” Albus finally said with a small smile.

They made their way out of the pub, and Albus was glad to notice that it wasn’t as cold as in the morning. Now he could pretend that he hadn’t had to use the scarf, just to piss Scorpius off.

Riley was now talking about his last Christmas. Apparently his dad had started an argument with his maternal uncle. He was making a point of how they always argued, but seemed to get on well anyway.

“But it’s kind of weird, you know? They are sitting there and you don’t know if they are gonna hex each other or share a joke.” He laughed.

“Oh, I know about that.” Albus laughed too. “Scorpius’ dad came over for dinner the other day, and so did my uncle and my godfather. And my dad tries, you know? But they do know how to get under each other skin. It’s kind of hilarious, actually.”

Riley stayed silent for a moment. Albus wondered what was wrong. “Draco Malfoy?” He finally asked.

“Um,” Albus frowned. He didn’t understand why there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere. “Yeah?”

He seemed to be thinking very cautiously of his words. As if he was tiptoeing around them. “You get along with him? I mean, your family.”

Albus slowed his pace. “Well, he is Scorpius’ dad. And Scorpius is practically family.” He simply said.

“Right,” He nodded. “But didn’t he and your dad…”

“That’s personal.” Albus cut him short. That was one of the things he hated the most. Everyone seemed to know everything about his family, and everyone believed themselves experts in the matter. And somehow thought they had a said in the matter, even though they didn’t know any of them.

“No, of course…” Riley seemed embarrassed.

Albus sighed. He knew Riley didn’t mean anything about it, and he was probably just curious. But it was a sensitive matter for him, one he had been dealing with for quite a long.

“No, don’t worry.” They kept walking, and Albus decided to move nearer the shops, far away from the people that were slowly making their way into the town. “I just don’t like it when people talk about my family… It’s just… It’s personal, and no one ever knows the full story, you know? But they think they do.”

Riley nodded, but seemed to be worrying something. “Yes, of course. But it’s not that personal, not everything.” Albus looked at him. “I mean, what happened. The war and everything, it did involve… well, everyone.”

Albus frowned. “What do you mean?” They were now barely walking, and to anyone else it must have seemed as if they were just wandering.

“Well…” He paused. “Draco Malfoy,” He said. “He was a Death Eater, wasn’t him?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Excuse me?” He wondered how Riley must have sounded to himself, because Albus couldn’t understand in why he thought it was in anyway an acceptable comment at the moment. “That’s Scorpius’ father you are talking about.”

“I-I…” He blushed. “I don’t mean anything, of course, but he did was… So…”

“Yes. He was.” He said. Albus didn’t know why, but he felt suddenly very defensive about Scorpius’ dad. He had barely spoken to him, and for the most part of his life Albus had been scared of doing so. He always looked stern and cold, but Albus had found that he was nothing like that, he was just very reserved. And Albus could understand why. They had spent a few dinners together, and a very awkward but very lovely Christmas. It had been one of Albus’ favourites, not just because he got to spend it with Scorpius, but because it had been really funny to watch Draco Malfoy try to fit in around a bunch of Weasleys and Potters.

“But that’s personal too. And he is nothing like that anymore.” He added. And it was true. In fact, Albus had a hard time trying to see the person everyone seemed to have met at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy seemed like a very polite man, if you totally ignored what he says when he gets in arguments with his dad or his uncle Ron. Sure, they were harmless and every time less frequent, but they were still fun to watch.

He was especially kind with his aunt Hermione, and he seemed embarrassed every time he had to talk to her. His own mother had developed a taste for making inappropriate sexual jokes around him, just to make him uncomfortable. To be honest, they made more than one person uncomfortable, especially Albus himself.

Riley seemed embarrassed, and Albus just wished that he dropped the topic. “Yes, I know. I heard so, but…” For Merlin’s sake. “It’s just, isn’t it weird? I mean, after everything…” Riley looked at everything but Albus. “It’s none of my business, but my dad is a muggleborn, you know? And it’s kind of weird how Malfoy didn’t face any consequences.”

“Yes, because my father asked so.” Albus said. He was aware that he sounded a bit harsh, but he didn’t like it when people talked about his family. And the Malfoy’s felt like family by this point. “And I know that if anyone knows what happened, it has to be my dad.” It was something that he had learnt not so long ago, that his father had done that, and it had surprised him quite a bit.

Riley nodded. “Yes, of course…”

He seemed to drop the subject, but now Albus felt quite annoyed. Scorpius meant a lot to him, and so did his family. He knew very well what they all had been through with Astoria, the rumors, and everything. “I just wish people to stopped talking and making assumptions.” He sighed. “This whole subject. It hurt Scorpius enough, and I think people need to watch their words.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, no. I didn’t believe those rumors, I wasn’t talking about that at all.” He looked down. “It’s just… as I said. I know Scorpius is nice, but his dad… well, one can never know, can we? After all, he wasn’t really nice himself. Or so my dad told me.”

Albus sighed once more. They were now reaching the exit of the town. “He wasn’t nice.” That was true. But he also knew that Scorpius’ dad wasn’t very proud of that either. “But it’s really easy to judge from the outside. You don’t know what he had to deal with. He had his very own family, and his social circle wasn’t any different. It shouldn’t be hard to make bad decisions in that context.”

“Well,” Riley started. “Augusta’s family isn’t very nice either.” He looked at Albus. “But she ended up in Hufflepuff anyway, she chose to be nice.”

He frowned. Albus wished he had just dropped the topic. “Well,” He retorted. “Not everyone can be Augusta, you know?” He sounded harsher than he intended. Riley stopped walking. “Okay, maybe he was indeed asshole. Maybe he was a horrible person and it was a hundred present on him. But he isn’t like that anymore.” Albus was aware that he was pissed off. He took a breath. “It’s hard to recognize when someone else is doing something wrong. It’s harder to do so when your loved ones are the ones that are doing something wrong. And it’s especially hard to recognize when you are doing something wrong yourself. Especially when you had been told your entire life it was the right thing.” Riley was just blinking at him. “He recognized that he was wrong, he apologized and changed. And I think that takes a lot of strength, not many people can do so.” He finished. It’s not like Scorpius’ dad had killed someone, so why it was so hard for them to believe he changed.

“I…” Riley started. “I’m sorry, I…”

“No…” Albus sighed. He knew he had the tendency to get heated over some stuff. “I over-reacted.”

Riley seemed truly embarrassed. “No. It was completely out of place, I don’t know what I was thinking…” Albus rubbed the back of his neck, not sure of what to say. “Dammit. I made everything awkward, didn’t I?”

Albus smiled at him. “Nah, don’t worry.” He was indeed slightly pissed off, but he knew he shouldn’t be. “Look,”

“ALBUS!” Someone shouted from outside the town. They both of them turned around, startled.

A boy Albus didn’t know was running towards them. He stopped right in front of them, panting. “Lily.” He just said. And from his aspect Albus knew it wasn’t anything good. “She is in the infirmary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wrote this chapter while I was on the train, and then noticed this was way too long. I decided to cut this chapter in two parts, because with the date and everything it was a bit too much. (This first part is 3.5k on it's own!)  
> Next part will probably be up tomorrow, as usual, and it will be from Albus' POV
> 
> I know I keep repeating myself, but thanks for all the kudos and comments! I love to read them, and I appreciate all the feedback <3
> 
>  
> 
> And I'm so so sorry for the clifhanger! (...or maybe I'm not)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Albus's POV (2/2)
> 
> Second part.

Albus crashed into the infirmary, Riley close behind him. Rose was there, wearing her Quidditch uniform. Hugo was next to her, and so was Scorpius, who was combing Lily’s hair with his fingers. She was asleep, and had her head wrapped up in bandages. Albus could feel his eyes filling with tears. He also noticed a girl and a boy, both in their Quidditch uniform, too. 

“It was an accident.” They girl was crying. “I didn’t thought she was going to…” Her voice broke. “We were just trying those Weightless Pills…” The boy hugged her. Hugo was avoiding eye contact. 

Albus looked at her cousin. “What happened?” 

Rose’s eyes were watery, but she seemed composed. She also looked extremely serious, which made Albus feel a shiver running down his spine. “We were practicing, and she was trying to catch the snitch. Erica threw her a bludger, but she didn’t see it.” She paused, now looking furious. “They had the great idea of trying Uncle George’s stuff.” Albus frowned, not quite following her. She sighed, and continued. “There were some pills that apparently make you lighter, though what for, I’m not sure. She thought it would make her go faster in her broom, which it did. But apparently you weren’t supposed to use them in such extreme scenarios.” She swallowed. “She passed out, the bludger hit her, and… she…” Her eyes were filling with tears again.

“She fell of her broom and hit her head.” Madam Pomfrey finished. “But don’t worry Mr. Potter, she is out of danger.” She left a tray next to Lily’s bed. “She had a contusion, a pretty bad one. But nothing I haven’t seen before.” Albus swallowed. He was looking at his sister. She had always been quite small, but right now she looked even younger. “I gave her a potion so she wouldn’t feel any pain. She should be waking up soon.” She now looked at the students in the room. “And I think I told you to stop making a fuss about it, this an infirmary, not a playground. I know you are worried, but she is fine, and my other patients would like to rest.” She put her hands on her hips. “Anyone who is not a relative has to leave. The other ones have five minutes.” 

Erica looked at the boy next to her, then at Rose. 

“It’s okay” Rose reassured her, but Albus knew she was holding herself. “Go.” 

She nodded and did so, and the boy followed her close behind. Albus watched them go.

Rose turned to Hugo, who had not said a word since he arrived. “You too.” He opened his mouth to protest, but Rose only glared at him. He glanced at Albus before whispering a soft ‘I’m sorry’ and walking away.

“I guess I’ll go.” Riley said. Albus had completely forgotten about him. “Tell me if you need anything.” He said, and smiled at Albus. Albus just nodded. 

They were now two other people left, and Madam Pomfrey seemed exasperated. Scorpius left Lily’s side and looked at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Albus immediately crashed onto him, hugging him fiercely.

“I’ll go.” Said Rose quietly, and left the room.

Madam Pomfrey just sighed, “Five minutes.” She said, before turning around.

Albus didn’t know how much time had passed. He hadn’t moved an inch, and could feel that he was trembling the tiniest bit.

“Al...” Scorpius finally said. He had his arms around him too, and didn’t seem to notice that Albus was practically crushing him.

“He scared the shit out of me!” He said. 

“Who?” Scorpius asked.

Albus could feel the tears leaving his eyes. He hated it, he hated that cried so easily. James always teased him about it, and his dad always seemed uncomfortable when Albus did so. He never knew what to do with his son. 

“I don’t know!” Albus had his face buried on Scorpius’ chest, so his voice came out muffled. “I think it was one of Lily’s friends.” He sniffled. “He came in running and said she was in the infirmary. It scared the shit out of me! And then I come in here and she is asleep and everyone is crying and… and I…” He let out an ugly sob. 

“Hey, hey.” Scorpius pulled back, one hand on Albus’ shoulder, the other one lightly rubbing his arm. He was looking down at Albus with a reassuring smile. “She is your sister, of course you were scared.” Albus could still feel a tear running down his cheek. “Anyone would have been. I was too when Rose told me, I think I almost pushed someone down the stairs on my way here.” 

Albus laughed at that. “I’m telling you, all that sibling are good for is causing trouble.” He wiped his face. “I’m gonna kill her when she wakes up.” 

Scorpius laughed too, and reached to wipe one of Albus tears with his hand. “Nah, you won’t.” He said with a smile. 

Albus felt himself blushing, and was suddenly aware that they were very close. Scorpius’s eyes were shinning, and they had that soothing shade of grey that reminded Albus’ so much of the clouds. He could feel Scorpius hand still on his cheek, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to move even if his life depended on it. He held Scorpius gaze, unable to do anything else but breathe. And he wasn’t sure he was doing that either.

“That’s gay…” He heard a rough voice behind him.

“Lily!” He instinctively shouted at his sister. Then he remembered. “Lily!” He screamed now in a very different tone.

“H-Hey…” She had a crooked smile, and her eyes seemed dizzy. 

Albus rushed to her bed. “How do you feel?” 

“I…” She tried to lift herself, but failed to do so. “Hurts…”

“Don’t move.” Scorpius was next to him. “You hurt your head, pretty bad.”

Lily winced. “Yeah, I can feel it…”

“Are you okay? What do you remember?” Albus hurried to ask.

“Umm… I was flying… I saw the snitch…” She winced again. “Then I don’t know.” She closed her eyes.

“They said that Erica, your teammate, hit you with a bludger.” Scorpius was looking at her as though he was trying to examine her himself. “You fell off your broom.”

“Nice…” She laughed, but it sounded pained. “Now she owes me.”

Albus sighed, but Scorpius laughed with her. “Don’t encourage her!” He frowned at his friend.

“Right, sorry.” Scorpius composed himself. He turned to Lily. “Don’t emotionally manipulate people to your own advantage, Lily Luna.” 

Lily smiled. “I’ll try.” 

Albus sighed again. “Yeah, they also mentioned some Weightless Pills.” He commented, but Lily remained silent. “I’m gonna call Madam Pomfrey.” He decided to give up the topic for now. Rose was probably a lot better at being the serious one, anyway. Albus tried too, but he knew that Lily would never respect him as an ‘older brother’ figure, no matter how much he tried. Good luck he had Rose for that. 

When he came back, he saw Scorpius kneeling next to Lily. She seemed to be telling him about the game, and he was silently nodding at her. Albus felt his heart filling. Scorpius had the softest smile on his face, and even from the distance he could see the concern in his eyes.

He always knew that his best friend had a soft spot for Lily. He always sided with her when there was an argument, and always let her paint his nails with the most ridiculous colours. 

“It’s good to see you awake, Mrs. Potter.” Madam Pomfrey walked next to her, grabbing her wand from her pocket.

“How long was I asleep?” Lily’s voice still sounded rough. 

“Not much, forty minutes I would say. I would have given you something stronger, but I wasn't sure how your body would react to my potions after taking those pills.” She was moving her wand around her body. “I wanted to check you while you were awake, then you can rest.” She added.

“So can I go back to my dorm, then?” She asked.

Madam Pomfrey laughed, “Oh, no way Mrs. Potter.” She put down her wand. “You seem stable, but you had a pretty bad accident. You need to stay here at least until tomorrow. We don’t need things to get worse.”

“What?” Lily protested. “But I’m fine!” She tried to lift herself with her arms, but winced in pain. “Okay, you might be a little right…” She was now touching her head, but quickly pull her hand away when it just made it worse. 

“I’m pretty sure I don’t need you to tell me that I’m right.” She was now opening a vial. “But I appreciate your collaboration. Now take this.” 

“What is it?” She looked at the potion.

“Just a sleeping draught. You won’t be able to sleep on your own in your current state.”

Lily sighed, but took the vial. They stayed with her as the potion slowly made effect. Her eyes now looked a lot droopier and she was yawning mid-sentence. 

“Okay,” Said Scorpius, finally getting up. “I guess we better go...”

Lily looked at his brother. “Don’t tell mom… or dad… They’ll freak out... or Uncle George…” She yawned. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell.”

Albus got up too, and smiled apologetically. “I won’t, but I’m sure someone else will.”

(…)

Scorpius threw himself on his bed, and Albus followed his lead. 

“What a day.” He said.

Scorpius frowned at him. “It’s just three in the afternoon.” They were both laying on their backs. 

“Still.” He stretched himself. “Too much emotion for one day.” 

“Well, Lily’s fine. She’ll probably be out tomorrow.” 

“Yeah,” He closed his eyes, and tried to rest them. He was extremely tired, and felt like he could use a good nap.

A minute or so passed before Scorpius spoke again. “So… how was your date?”

Albus opened his eyes, but keep looking up. He had already forgotten about that. “It was fine…”

“But?” He knew Scorpius could read his tone. 

He paused for a moment. “Just some awkward… conversation at the end… But it was mostly fine, I had a nice time, I guess.”

He could feel Scorpius nodding. “Awkward conversation?” He then asked.

Albus knew that he would ask that. He just sighed. “It’s nothing, he just brought up the topic of my family…”

“Oh.” Scorpius simply said.

“Yeah.”

“Bummer.”

“Yeah.”

They both laughed.

Albus could feel Scorpius turning around, he was still looking up, but he could tell that his friend was facing him now. He waited for him to speak, but he didn’t say anything. Albus turned his head to look at him.

“What?” There was a still some distance between them, and Albus was glad for it. 

Scorpius was looking at him with an indecipherable look on his face. He just shrugged one shoulder, and looked down at the bed. “But did you have fun?” He was picking a loose thread in the duvet. Albus felt the same warm feeling he had felt that morning. Scorpius had that look in his eyes, the one that made Albus want to ask a thousand questions, though they were now shifting between his face and the bed. He swallowed, not sure of what it all meant. 

“Yeah, it was fun I guess…” He said softly. They were alone in the dorms, and though the curtains of Scorpius’ bed were open, it felt strangely intimate. The light was filtering through the water and the windows of the lake. It was calm, so much that Albus could hear Scorpius’ breathing and the sound of the duvet moving as he shifted his legs the tiniest bit. “It wasn’t anything especial.” He added. 

Scorpius looked back at him, and he could feel his heart on his throat. He turned his body so that he was mimicking Scorpius, both facing each other. He thought that he should say something, but he was feeling sleepy, and being this close to Scorpius was making him unable to think of much. They were just looking at each other. It seemed to happen a lot lately, not that Albus complained. Looking at Scorpius was probably one of his favourite things to do, second to hugging him. But right now it made him feel both anxious and calm at the same time. He didn’t know if he wanted to look away or stay like that forever. 

Scorpius opened his mouth, and seemed to be looking for the right words, when Albus yawned.

He could feel his cheeks heating, and Scorpius laughed at him. “Are you tired?” He asked with a small smile. 

Albus punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Shut up.” But he knew he was probably red. “I woke up early, alright?” He tried to look mad, but Scorpius was looking at him with a warm smile and he failed to do so. Instead, he blushed even deeper. 

“Oh, I bet all that romance left you exhausted.” Scorpius joked, but he blushed instantly. He seemed to regret it the moment he said it. 

“Oh, yeah.” Albus said sarcastically. “Nothing like talking about your family and History of Magic, I could feel the romance in the air.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well, knowledge sounds like a great time to spend your time, if you ask me.” Scorpius commented.

“Yeah, because you are a nerd.” Albus teased.

“Touché.” He said. They both smiled at each other, and a pressure Albus didn’t know he was holding seemed to go away. This felt causal, just like every time they laid in bed at night and talked. 

Albus stretched himself, and shifted his body so he was more comfortable against the pillow. The end result was that he was now laying closer to Scorpius, who just smiled at him. 

“You woke up at like half past seven.” Scorpius said, arching an eyebrow.

Albus frowned. “Yes. And that’s awfully early.” He closed his eyes, the warm of Scorpius body was making him sleepy. He blushed at that thought, and tried not to think about it. “Especially for weekends.” 

Scorpius laughed at him. “We still have time until dinner, maybe you should take a nap.” He yawned too.

Albus laughed and opened his eyes, though they were feeling heavy. “Now who’s tired?”

Now it was Scorpius time to frown, though it ended up looking like a pout. “That’s your fault, you are yawning and it’s contagious.” 

“Yeah, sure.” He smiled at him, his eyes already droopy. He closed them again and sighed. “Okay, a nap sounds good.” He yawned. “But you need to wake me up.”

“Of course, wouldn’t miss dinner for anything.” He was smiling too.

“Okay” He took a deep breath, and mentally prepared himself for getting up, but his body didn’t have the same plans. “Ugh, laying down was a bad idea.”

This time Scorpius laughed. “You don’t have to get up, just sleep here.” Albus was sure there were at least a hundred reasons why that was an awful idea, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “I’ll wake you up.” He added.

“‘Kay” He barely managed to say. He yawned, already drifting into sleep, when he felt Scorpius’ hand brushing some strands of hair away from his face. In any other situation, he would have felt his heart jumping, but right now he was too comfortable to react. He just let Scorpius play with his hair, enjoying the feeling.

“I don’t like him” He said, his eyes still closed. Scorpius’ hand stopped, and he wanted him to continue. He yawned again. “Riley, I don’t.” He continued. “We are just friends.” He wasn’t sure why he was saying that, it just felt right.

“Oh,” He sounded surprised. “Okay,” He said softly. And it was the last thing he heard before he finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna lie, college got in the way, but yesterday? The oscars. And I could not focus on anything else ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I also had some issues writting it, because I had to decide how I wanted to continue this story. I rewrote this chapter at least three times, mostly because I didn't know which scenes fitted the best. We are reaching the end, but I'm not sure how many chapters are left, however, I'll let you know when I'm sure. There are a few threads we need to tie before the end.
> 
> Oh, and I'm sorry if you were expecting anything else, I couldn't bring myself to hurt Lily.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who is commenting or leaving kuddos, y'all make it all worth it.
> 
> Next chapter won't take as long, I promise.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius' POV

Scorpius woke up from a nap he didn’t realize he had taken. He opened his eyes and noticed the boy lying next to him, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. The last things he remembered was watching Albus fall asleep, and he guessed that he did the same shortly after. 

Albus was lying in the same position he had fallen asleep, which was usually the case. Scorpius had learnt that Albus didn’t move much around when he slept. It suited his personality, Scorpius had noted. He had always been quiet and reserved, always trying to make himself small and unnoticed. That was one of the mains difference with Scorpius, not that he tried to be the center of attention by any means, but he was always anxious and fidgeting with his sleeves, quills or books. As a result, he always woke up in the weirdest positions. Apparently he was incapable of being still even in his sleep.

The watch on his nightstand pointed half past four. There was still plenty of time until they had to go to dinner. There was no reason to wake up Albus yet. He laid back on his bed again, listening to Albus’ soft breathing. It did something to his heart, but he kept looking up for his own sake. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. 

The anxiety he had felt the entire day seemed to finally drift away from him. ‘We are just friends’ Albus had said, and he knew there was a reason it made him so happy. 

He finally turned his head to look at his friend, to really look at him. Albus’ face looked calm when he slept, his lips were slightly parted and his chest was slowly raising with his soft breathing. They weren’t really that close, not any different from when they had shared a bed before, but they were close enough that Scorpius could count each of Albus' freckles. 

His face wasn’t covered with them, not like his siblings. Lily was full of them, James had a lot of them too, but significantly less than Lily did. Albus, on the other hand, only had a bunch of them around his nose and cheeks, some on his forehead too. Scorpius liked them, though he was sure they wouldn’t fit him as well as Albus. 

Albus didn’t have the same opinion about them, he thought they made him look childish. Albus wasn’t a big fan of a lot of things about himself to be honest, which Scorpius never personally understood. He always thought his friend was amazing, in every aspect. He was a hundred percent sure that Albus was the most amazing person he had ever met, and the fact that he had chosen to be his best friend still astonished him. ‘He loves me’ He thought. ‘He said he loved me’. He looked at his sleeping friend, why was Albus wasting his time with him? Someone who couldn’t even return his feelings. 

He rubbed his face, and run his hand through his hair. ‘I love you’ Albus had said. He smiled at the memory. He loved him too, right? He was his best friend, of course he did. He turned to look at Albus again. Merlin, he was beautiful. 

Scorpius stopped himself at that thought.

Albus was beautiful. That wasn’t a big discovery, was it? It was more of a fact. The sky was blue, the earth was round and Albus was beautiful. Just facts, right? 

He propped himself on one arm and stared at his friend. It was probably a creepy thing to do, he told himself. He looked at Albus’ freckled nose, his long eyelashes. He felt his heart doing that funny thing. ‘And if you had time to think about it?’ Albus had asked. He had been so sure that no, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to date Albus, he was his best friend. The idea of both of them not being best friends was ridiculous to him. It had always been that way, and would always be. 

But apparently it wasn’t that ridiculous to Albus. He was aware that he was staring, but he couldn’t help himself. Albus moved his face against the pillow, and it caused his nose to be scrunched by it. Scorpius couldn’t help but suppress a laugh. 

Dating Albus? He returned to his train of thoughts. He had assumed that he didn’t want to, but he wasn’t sure of what that really meant. 

He had seen a lot of couples around Hogwarts, and to be honest, they were weird. They were always saying embarrassing things to each other and using pet names, or snogging around the corridors. It always disgusted Scorpius, many times he had encountered a couple with too much tongue action. And that without thinking about the awkward arguments or toxic jealousy. 

But then there was that casual hand holding, those small stolen kisses. He looked at his friend. Albus wanted that. Merlin, Albus wanted to kiss him. He said he wanted to date him, that meant that he also wanted to kiss Scorpius, right? He had never thought about that, the idea seemed so foreign. He looked at Albus lips instinctively.

They were still parted, his breath coming softly out of them. There were a few faint freckles on top of his upper lip. Scorpius swallowed with some difficulty. His mind decided to wonder what it would be like to kiss them. He imagined Albus looking at him, those same green eyes he had known for six years. He saw him closing his eyes, and imagined what it would feel to press his lips against the other’s, to tangle his fingers in Albus’ hair. Albus would probably kiss him back, he would press against him, deepen the kiss. His lips would probably be as soft as they looked, and he would part them, letting his tongue-

He sat up, his heart running at an alarming speed. What was that? His face was burning and he found it very difficult to breathe properly. He looked down at his friend, who seemed unfazed by the movement. Scorpius tried and failed to stop his heart. It was just Albus laying down in his bed, there was nothing new about that, yet it felt like a whole new situation. 

He looked at his untamed hair falling in front of his eyes, his scrunched nose and his pouty lips and he wanted to- Merlin, what did he want?

Apparently his desperation startled Albus, because he slowly opened his eyes. Scorpius could feel his face burning, his heart was hammering so hard in his chest that he was sure that his friend would be able to hear it. Albus blinked and seemed confuse for half a second, before noticing Scorpius. “Hey,” He almost whispered with a smile, still half asleep. His heart almost jumped.

“H-Hey,” He tried to sound casual, but his voice sounded higher than normal. 

Albus frowned at him, and sat up slowly. They were really, really close, and he felt the urge to run away, which Albus seemed to sense. “Are you okay?”

“I-I…” He made a point of not looking at Albus’ lips, which suddenly proved to be a very difficult task. “Yes.” He knew he didn’t sound like it.

Albus licked his lips before speaking. Scorpius damned himself for looking, and instinctively moved back a little. Albus looked confused by that and dropped whatever he was about to say. “What’s wrong?” He finally asked.

What was wrong? Scorpius wasn’t sure of that himself. What should he said? ‘Oh, nothing I was just thinking about kissing you and I think now I really want to do it?’ His own mind betrayed him again at that by replaying his thoughts. He could feel himself panicking again.

“I have to go,” He said, suddenly standing up. “I have to… Rose.” He said. “I forgot I had to meet her. We were supposed to… before everything happened…” He knew he was rambling. 

Albus was just looking at him. “Okay” He said. He didn’t seem convinced by it, but he didn’t press it either.

“Okay” He repeated, before practically running out of the room. 

(…)

He didn’t stop until he was outside the common room, his heart hammering like he had just run a marathon. What just happened? He rested his back against the wall, his head hitting the cold stone. Everything felt so foreign, yet so familiar. 

‘Do I like Albus?’ He thought. He felt panic taking over him. His mind replayed the same scenario like a torment, or a blessing. He couldn’t tell. 

The worst part about it? It made sense. Scorpius closed his eyes. It made sense. He felt like the biggest idiot.

He remembered Albus sleeping on his bed, his messy hair, his soft face. He remembered that same morning, the anxiety on his face as he rummaged through his clothes. He loved him. He loved his laugh, he loved his dumb face and his untamed hair. 

He remembered that afternoon in the infirmary, how Albus hand clung onto him like a vice. He remembered his tear filled eyes, his worried face and trembling lips. He had wanted to make everything in his power to make it better. 

He remembered that same morning again, how nervous Albus had been. He wanted to kiss him and tell him that he was beautiful and didn’t have anything to be nervous about because he was perfect.

He wanted to kiss him.

For Salazar’s dead basilisk, he wanted to. He laughed, probably out of nerves. How could he have ever thought it was platonic? How could he...

Reality hit him like a million bludgers. He had rejected him. He had shut him down and made him cry. Scorpius hit his head against the cold stone. He had told him to go on a date with someone else. And what should he do now? Go to Albus and tell him ‘Hey, you know how I told you I didn’t want to date you, made you cry and told you to go out with someone else? Well, lucky you, because now I like you.’ He sounded like the biggest asshole ever, and he wanted to curse himself for it.

He swallowed, feeling worse than that time he thought he had failed a Transfiguration exam. 

‘Rose.’ He thought. ‘I need to talk to her.’ He couldn’t do this on his own, and Rose was the only person he could go to.

(...)

He had been walking for about five minutes before he found her. She was walking next to someone, they seemed to be chatting and she was laughing. He walked up to her.

“Jessica” Scorpius said surprised. He didn’t know they were friends.

“Scorpius.” Rose said, she looked flustered. “What are you doing here?”

“You mean in a corridor?” He arched an eyebrow at her.

“Right. A corridor.” She blushed. “I...”

Jessica let out a laugh. “Hi Scorpius.” She turned to Rose. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Rose seemed to compose herself, and took a deep breath. “Right” She smiled at Jessica. “Dinner?”

The other girl smiled back. “Sure,” She turned to Scorpius. “See you, too, then.”

Scorpius barely nodded at her, before she disappeared. He was about to question Rose about it, but she cut him short.

“What do you want?” She seemed mad at him, and he couldn’t understand why.

He suddenly remembered why he was looking for her. “I’m in love with Albus.” He blurted out, though it came out more as a question.

Rose closed her eyes and took another deep breath, before smiling. “About damn time.” 

“What do you mean?” Scorpius frowned at her. 

She looked at both sides, before grabbing his arm and entering a near empty classroom. “What I mean,” she finally said when the door was closed. “Is that I was about to lose my goddamn mind!”

Scorpius looked at her, still confused. “Rose, every time I talk to you I have a really hard time following what you mean...”

She sighed. “It was just so obvious. I always thought you knew.” She said. “But then you rejected him and...” She smiled “I knew you were just a big idiot.”

Despite everything, he smiled. “Yeah, I know...” He looked down. “But what do I do now?”

“What do you mean?” It was now her time to look confused.

“I mean that, what do I do?” He run his hand through his hair. “He must hate me.”

Rose smiled softly. “He could never, dumbass.” She almost laughed. “Just tell him!”

Scorpius seemed unsure. “What about Riley?” He could feel the panic coming back. “He said they were just friends but... but they did go on a date. He asked him out, and Albus said yes, he must like him a bit.” 

Now Rose looked nervous. She bit her lip.

“What?” He felt suddenly incredibly nervous. “Oh Merlin, he likes him, doesn’t him? He told you. No, you just know it.”

“Scorpiu-“ She interrupted him.

“I know it too,” He didn’t listen. “Why would he go out on a date with him, then? They had hang out before, Albus knew him enough to be sure. He even said that they had fun, I bet he said they were just friends becau-“

“Scorpius!” He stop abruptly. “Shut up! That’s not it!” She looked exasperated, so he stayed silent. Rose sighed. “That’s not it...” She repeated.

“Then what’s it?” He asked her. She bit her lip again, she was looking at him with a worried face. “Rose!” He almost shouted. His nerves were taking the best of him.

“It’s Riley.” She said.

“Yes, Rose, that’s what I said.” He sighed. “If you don’t start saying coherent sentences, I swear...” he started.

Rose sighed. “Okay.” She looked away. “I thought it was a good idea, you know?” Scorpius just looked at her. She sighed again. “I thought that... well, that maybe if Albus went out with someone else you would realize how stupid you were being and you would do something about it.”

“You what?” Scorpius looked baffled.

“I know!” She exclaimed. “It was childish, but it was such an obvious move! I thought you would realize, but you didn’t! And I knew that Albus liked you, he had told me-“

“You knew?” He asked, but Rose ignored him.

“And I knew he wouldn’t get over you, but I thought that you would do something before Riley actually made a move. But you didn’t! And then I was confused too, because I saw them at the library and they looked so friendly and I thought that maybe Albus did like him...”

Scorpius felt like someone had punched him in the gut. “What?” He swallowed, but it was suddenly an extremely hard action. “You think he likes him?”

“I don’t think so.” It did nothing to calm his nerves. “But that’s not the point, the point is that I didn’t say anything at that time because I was confused, so I let them go to their date. But now I realize how stupid that was!” Now she looked in panic. “Jessica told me that Riley liked Albus, and I was about to tell her that Albus didn’t like him but then that thing happened at the library so I wasn’t sure. And now this had gone on for too long and Riley is going to find out and Jessica is going to hate me!” She finished.

Scorpius stared at her, blinking a couple of times.

“What?” She finally asked.

“I just don’t know what Jessica has to do with any of it.” He said.

Rose blushed. “Oh,” She avoided looking at him. “Nothing of course, it’s just, she is nice, you know? As a friend. A nice friend. And I...” Scorpius smiled. “What?”

“Don’t tell me,” He started, smiling. “That the great Rose Granger-Weasley has a crush?”

She was now deep red. “I don’t!” She crossed her arms. “I do not! And this is not about me, this is about you and your big head.” 

Scorpius would have enjoyed to tease her, but he suddenly remembered the point of the talk. Rose sighed, and dropped her arms. “Just talk to him.” She put on a reassuring smile. “I promise it’ll be fine.”

“Rose, but what if he really likes Riley?” He felt his eyes filling with tears. “I shouldn’t even have a right to be mad if he chooses him, after all I did.” 

Suddenly, she closed the distance between them and hugged him. “I cannot believe you two.” He relaxed into the hug, but wasn’t sure of what to do with his arms. She just kept patting his back. “Just talk to him, or I promise you that this time I will drag the two of you and lock you in a closet until you solve it.”

“Oh, so that way when we are over we could say that we came out of the closet?” He smiled.

Rose let out a gasp and pushed him back. “That’s the worst pun ever, you don’t even deserve a hug.” Scorpius just laughed. “I walked right into it, didn’t I?” She sighed.

“Yes you did,” He said with a proud smile.

“I hate you.” Though she was smiling. She pushed him to the door. “Now go talk to him.” 

(...)

Scorpius walked all the way to the dorms, just to find out that Albus wasn’t there. He wondered where he could have gone, before remembering Lily. She would probably be still asleep, but it was a good guess.

When he reached the infirmary, he saw Albus talking to someone in front of the entrance. That someone wasn’t wearing a school uniform, and to his surprise, he noticed that it was James. 

He had probably come to see his sister, and since he wasn’t wearing his job uniform Scorpius supposed that he had a free day or a short shift. They seemed to be having a serious conversation, or at least one that was rather personal. He wasn’t sure if he should interrupt. Albus didn’t usually talk to his brother about personal things, Scorpius knew that, so it was probably something important.

He was about to turn around, before James noticed him. Albus did too almost at the same time, so he decided to approach them.

“Hi,” He said at James. 

“Hi” He said back, but he seemed somewhat tense. Scorpius looked at Albus, who seemed tense too. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

James looked between the two of them before answering. “Yeah, just having some brotherly talk.” Albus seemed awfully silent, which only confused Scorpius. “Well, since that’s all and Lily is still asleep, I guess I better go.” He looked at Albus. “I’ll see if I can come tomorrow when she wakes up, okay?” Albus just nodded. 

James looked at him for another second, before turning to Scorpius. Everything felt so tense that it was making him uncomfortable. “Take care Scorpius.” He had never been particularly close to James, in fact, they barely talked, but yet James had never been so cold with him. He didn't like it.

When he left, Scorpius turned to his friend. He finally noticed that his eyes were slightly red. Had he been crying? In front of James? “What happened?” He asked him.

Albus looked at him for a second. “Nothing.” He just said. “I’m just gonna grab dinner and go to bed, if you don’t mind.” Somehow, Scorpius understood that Albus meant ‘not with you.’ 

“Okay.” He said, and didn’t question him, despite the fact that Albus had just woken up from a nap and it was probably around five. “I wanted to talk to you...”

“Maybe later.” Albus cut him. He seemed to notice that he came out as cold, because he added a smile. “If that’s okay.”

Scorpius nodded at him. “Okay.” He said. He wasn’t sure of what was happening, but he knew that it was better not to pressure Albus into things.

Albus looked at him once more, before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens.
> 
> Well, not really.
> 
> Also Rose deserves an award for being the mom friend of the group.
> 
>  
> 
> As always, thanks for reading <3
> 
> (ps: i spotted some mistakes but i fixed them, please excuse me if you spotted some yourself!)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Albus' POV

Albus sat on a bench outside the potions classroom. He wasn’t sure how he got there, he just walked without really thinking. The idea of going to the great hall overwhelmed him, everyone would be there and notice that he was off. The last thing he needed was an interrogation. Though with some luck, they would think he was just worried about his sister, but he still wanted to avoid it.

The conversation he had with his brother came back to him, and he groaned. He hadn’t meant to let himself go, hell, he hadn’t meant to tell him anything at all. He had decided to go somewhere, anywhere but the dorms and his own mind, when he stumbled upon James. His brother had told him he was there to see Lily and he had decided to tag along. It hadn’t took him long to realize something was up with Albus. 

In any other moment he would never have spoken to James about anything related to his feelings or love life. He cringe at the idea of it. But it all had been so recent. 

Why had he decided that it was a good idea to sleep next to his best friend, as if nothing had happened? It was kind of his own fault, he told himself. The reality of it all had probably finally hit Scorpius, what Albus’ feelings meant. He remembered his friend’s face, the repulsiveness with which he had moved away from Albus. It had taken just a couple of question from his brother for him to finally break down and tell James everything.

And to top it all, Scorpius now suddenly wanted to talk to him. He was probably going to ask him for space, or worse, to finally leave him alone. 

James had been so pissed off, which he kind of understood from a brother’s point of view, but not really. Scorpius hadn’t done anything wrong, in fact, he had been very understanding with Albus, despite everything. But Albus’ good luck was finally wearing down, and Scorpius was probably realizing how weird it all was. And if that wasn’t everything, he had told him that he didn’t like Riley. Just another reason for Scorpius to know how fucking lost he was.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard someone approaching. 

“I mean, I know you like potions, but this is plain weird.” Riley joked, sitting down next to him.

Albus laughed. “Can’t wait ‘till next class. I’m probably going to camp here.” Riley laughed with him, and then remained silent. “What are you doing here?” He finally asked. 

“Is it weird if I say that I saw you walking here and followed you?” Riley blushed.

“A bit…” Though he smiled.

Riley sighed. “I just…” He looked down before speaking. “Okay, first of all, how’s your sister?” 

“Oh, she is fine. Right now she is sleeping, but I was able to talk to her.” He shrugged. 

“That’s amazing.” Riley said, but he seemed to have something else in his mind. “Listen, I just wanted to talk about this morning…”

Had it been this morning? Albus felt like it had been a week ago. “It’s fine, really…”

“No, I was completely out of place and I…” He was red all the way to his ears, and Albus couldn’t stay mad with him.

“Hey,” He stopped him. “I mean it, no harm done.” He offered a reassuring smile. 

“Okay,” He nodded. “Alright…” 

Albus nodded back, and the conversation fell flat. He didn’t know if he should say something or excuse himself. He really wanted to be alone, but he thought it would come out as rude. He was wondering what to do when Riley finally spoke. 

“Are you okay?” He simply asked him.

“I…” Albus looked at him. He didn’t feel like telling him everything, but he guessed that there was a thing or two that Riley deserved to know. “Listen… I… There’s something I need to tell you.” Riley just looked at him and nodded expectantly. He sighed. “Okay… Look, I had fun today. I really did, you are really funny and laid back but…”

“But you don’t feel that way.” Riley finished for him with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry.” He winced. “I wish I did, trust me, I really do.” And for reasons Riley didn’t know. “But I just… I don’t. And I don’t think it’s fair for you.” 

“This is because of Scorpius, isn’t it?” Albus guessed that he must had really looked shocked, because Riley laughed. “Relax, it’s okay.” He was still laughing. 

“I… Is it that obvious?” He was sure he was blushing.

Riley’s smile was now a bit sadder. “I had my suspicions, you know? But Jessica said I had to give it a try or I could never know.” He explained. “But you didn’t say anything about it, so I thought she was right.” He looked down. “I still had my doubts though…” He let out a small laugh before looking back at him. “Albus, you talked about him the whole date.”

It was official. Albus was now, definitely, one hundred percent red. “I…” He wanted to crawl under a rock and possibly die. “I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t realize…” 

Riley only laughed louder. “Don’t worry,” He finally said. “I realized that you weren’t aware of it.” He looked embarrassed, and tucked his hair behind his ear. “I was almost jealous, you know?”

Albus let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. “Must have been the worst date ever.” He turned his head to Riley. “I’m really sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry.” His smile seemed genuine. “I kind of compensated myself with those awful questions.” 

“Maybe we are just awful at dating?” He smiled.

“Maybe.” Riley said. They looked at each other for a moment, trying not to laugh.

Albus finally looked away, a smile still on his face. “Merlin, I’m a mess.” He run his hand through his hair. “But for the record.” He looked at him again. “I do like you, and it was fun.”

“Well,” Riley offered. “Maybe friends?”

“Friends sounds great.” He said. “If that’s okay for you.” 

“Oh, I’ll get over it.” He shrugged. “Plus, I think you got it worse.” This time Albus looked down. He really didn’t want to talk about it, not now. “Not a fan of the topic?”

“Not really.” He said, looking at his shoes. 

“Well, if you want my advice,” Riley started. “Not that I’m an expert in romance, as you have experienced.” Albus couldn’t help but laugh. “And I’m gonna ignore the fact that you just laughed at me.”

“Sorry” He mumbled.

Riley just continued. “Just talk to him. I’m sure he feels the same way, you know?”

This time, Albus’ smile was sad. “I already did that.” He simply said.

“What?” 

“Just that. I already told him.” 

Riley gaped at him. He seemed to have forgotten that he was supposed to have a crush on Albus, or that they had gone on a date. “And what did he said?” 

Albus gave him another sad smile. “Just friends.” 

He had to admit that Riley was actually a really nice person, because he seemed genuinely shocked. “Wow.” He exclaimed. Albus nodded at him. He rested his head against the wall and just looked up at the ceiling. “But…” Riley continued. “Are you sure?”

“I’m pretty sure he said something along the lines ‘I don’t feel that way’ and ‘I will never’” He said without looking at Riley. 

“Merlin, I’m so mad.” Albus looked at him confused. “Did he really said that? He must be real idiot. I mean, here am I being rejected by you and all…” He blushed. “I’m not trying to make this about me, it’s just, wow.”

Albus just smiled at him. “Nah, it’s fine… It’s just…” He didn’t know if it would be weird to talk to Riley about it, but his brother hadn’t been of much help, and he could use some non-violent reaction about the matter. “Everything was cool, you know? He wasn’t weird about it but… I think I might have overstepped and now he definitely is weirded out about it.”

“Overstepped?” Riley frowned. “You didn’t try to kiss him, did you?”

“W-Wha-? No! Why would I do that?” He couldn’t help but blush at the idea of it.

Riley just shrugged. “I don’t know, seems like the only reason to be weirded out about it.” He seemed to think about it for a second. “Listen, whatever happened, maybe he is in fact uncomfortable about it…” Albus felt a rock dropping in his stomach. “…But that doesn’t mean you will stop being friends, you know? I mean, crushes happen, look at me. Just let him be weird about it for a while and he will get over it.” 

He didn’t like the idea of Scorpius being uncomfortable around him, and much less the idea of him wanting to be away from him. The prospect of things changing between them scared him more than he would ever dare to admit, but he decided to leave the topic for now. “Yeah, maybe…” He finally said. “There’s no point in stressing about it anyway.”

“Exactly.” Riley stoop up. “Why don’t we go grab dinner, then? You can sit with me at the Hufflepuff table,” He offered “Augusta and Melanie are waiting for me, they said that Jessica was having dinner with your cousin.” 

“Really?” He didn’t know the two of them were friends. A part of him hopped that Rose wasn’t up to anything. “That’s unusual. But yeah, I’m hungry anyway.” 

(…)

Dinner had been going for quite a while, and they were mostly done eating. Melanie was now telling the group about one of her classes. Albus had missed which one she was talking about, but she had been talking for several minutes and he was now too embarrassed to ask, so he just let her talk. 

“And she is totally going to fail me, I’m telling you, she hates me!” Melanie looked a lot like her cousin Jessica, with black hair and an overall pale complexion, though her eyes where brown, and her black hair was cut into a messy bob, with a set of bangs over her face. 

“She doesn’t hate you, she just fails you because you are lazy.” Augusta told her with an exasperated look. She had brown hair like Riley, which reached her shoulders. She also had hazel eyes, and didn’t look at all like she belonged in Hufflepuff. Albus didn’t know her, so he couldn’t really tell, but she had a cold look on her face and some fierce and expressive eyebrows. “Maybe you could pay more attention in class.” She finished, calmly taking a sip of her goblet. She reminded him of Rose when she was angry, except she was a lot more formal and graceful with her moves. 

“I’m not lazy.” Melanie just made a face at Augusta, and turned her attention to Riley. “Anyway would you help me with the Arithmancy essay?”

“Isn’t that due tomorrow?!” Riley almost yelled at her. Augusta just sighed and continued to eat, as if she had just prover her own point. “Fine. Just hurry up.” He stood up and looked at Albus. “You coming? We are heading down.”

“Sure” He told him, and stood up too. He looked at the only girl left. 

“Don’t mind me” Augusta said. She seemed to be looking at the Gryffindor table. He followed her gaze, and saw Rose laughing alongside Jessica. “I’m waiting for a friend.” She added without much talk, and continued eating her dinner. She didn’t seem very talkative.

Albus shrugged, and decided to follow Riley. They were making their way down the stairs, Melanie constantly chatting about something Albus had already blocked out with his own thoughts. 

“What do you think?” Albus turned to look at Riley, who was apparently now talking to him.

“Um… I- Sorry, what?” He almost tripped on the last step. Maybe he really needed to stop spacing out.

“Being underground, it kind of sucks, doesn’t it?” Riley said. Albus assumed they were talking about their common rooms.

“I don’t really mind,” He shrugged. “It’s kind of cool in the dungeons, with the lake and everything. Sometimes we even get to see the giant squid.”

“Oh, yeah. Sometimes I forget about the lake. I wish we had some kind of cool view.” Riley sighed.

“Excuse me?” Albus turned to him as they reached the end of the corridor. “You are next to the kitchens, that’s like, my biggest dream ever.” They stopped there, since from that point on they had to walk in different directions to their common rooms.

Riley smiled widely at him “And we do get to hoard all the food we want.” He added.

“And you are telling me just now? Maybe I need to pay you guys a visit.” He had to admit that every common room had its highs and lows, but Hufflepuffs were seriously underestimated. 

“Whenever you want” Melanie smiled, “But now let’s go Riley, please!” 

Riley rolled his eyes. “Well, see you later then.” He paused for a moment. “You okay, though? About…”

Albus shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Yes, it’s fine, really…” He bit his lip. “And about this morning…”

“Don’t worry, I understand.” He squeezed his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Thanks.” He looked at the boy in front of him. Physical contact was a lot less awkward now that he knew there was nothing more to it, so he put his hand over Riley’s, just to show him that it was okay. It was a bit of an awkward angle, since Riley’s hand was still on his shoulder. “I’m really glad.” He smiled back to him. 

Riley smiled, and seemed to be about to say something, when he looked at something behind Albus. He tensed a bit, before looking back at Albus and awkwardly getting his hand away from the confines of Albus’ hand and shoulder. 

Albus frowned confused, and Riley just cleared his throat. He finally turned back when he heard some steps, just to see Scorpius walking slowly towards them with the oddest expression on his face.

“Okay, cool.” Melanie, who didn’t seem to get anything of what was happening, grabbed Riley’s hand. “I’m glad you and your boyfriend are on good terms now MOVE.” He was tugging his hand.

“Mela- That’s not.” He turned suddenly a very deep shade of red, and glanced at Albus with a mortified face. “Didn’t you heard anything of what I said during dinner?” He muttered to her, as he was now being dragged across the corridor. 

“Not really, but repeat it to me once we are done with my essay.” She wasn’t even looking back. “Goodnight Albus!”

Albus could hear Riley protesting, but it was now slightly muffled by the distance. “Bye.” He said back, though he was sure they could no longer hear him. He was also a hundred percent aware that Scorpius was now standing next to him, but he refused to even look at him until the other one finally spoke. 

“I didn’t see you at dinner, and I wanted to talk to you before I fell asleep.” Scorpius explained without any prompt. “But you were taking long so…” He paused. 

He finally turned to look at his friend. “I had dinner with Riley’s friends, they are a bit talkative. I think I lost track of time…” He didn’t know why, but everything seemed tense. 

Scorpius nodded, but said nothing. The silence stretched for what felt like ages. 

“So…” Albus started

“I was just…” Scorpius said at the same time.

They both stopped.

“You go first-“ He said.

“Sorry you-“ Scorpius stopped at the same time. 

They both looked at the other. Albus wasn’t sure of what he wanted to say. He didn’t know what Scorpius had seen, what he might have misunderstood, or if it mattered at all. 

Scorpius finally took a deep breath, and spoke. “You seemed upset when you were with James.” He said. 

Albus blushed a bit. “Ah, yes…” He looked down. “It was nothing, I just… I guess I was still worried about Lily.” He knew it was a weak lie, but hoped that Scorpius wouldn’t press about it. 

To his own luck, Scorpius just nodded. He seemed to be worrying something else, though. He had that same look he always had when he was about to drop a bomb on Albus. Last time it had been about going away for the summer, which Albus had been extremely bummed about. James teased him about being depressed for the entire two weeks his friend had been away. ‘He didn’t die, Albus.’ His brother joked. ‘And he is not cheating on you with some Spanish boy either.’ Albus had thrown him a very large cooking book. Regardless, it had not been fun for Albus, so the prospect of receiving that kind of news made him really nervous. 

“So you and Riley…” Scorpius let the words hang on the air. 

“We are cool.” Albus said shortly. “I guess.” Scorpius just nodded again. He wasn’t sure if that fixed things or just made them more awkward. “What did you want to talk about?” 

Scorpius just blinked at him, as if he had just forgotten about that, “Oh, yeah…” He looked at Albus for a moment, and apparently decided to change the subject, because Albus was totally startled by his question. “So you and Riley are dating?”

“Excuse me?” He sounded as shocked as he felt.

“His friend said… and you two were…” He gestured with his hands. “I’m just asking…” He was blushing.

“I…” He wondered if this was the perfect opportunity to take everything back, to say that they were and prove Scorpius that he was over him. Then he immediately decided it was stupid to lie, and that he was too tired for that. “No, we are just friends.” He finally said. Something passed through Scorpius eyes, and Albus tried to point when he had stopped being able to read his friend. Up until now, Scorpius had been an open book to him. But now all of the sudden he was completely lost. 

“But do you want to?” He finally asked.

Albus frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Do you want to date him?”

Albus looked at him. No, there was just one person Albus wanted to date, and that person was standing in front of him with an unreadable expression in his face and asking questions that didn’t make any sense. He remained silent. What could he say? What should he say? He remembered Scorpius’ face when he woke up this evening. Maybe he needed to stop pushing his friend. He remembered James’ words; ‘Just snog Riley and move on. It’s Scorpius loss.’ Okay, maybe not the best idea. His brother was not the best advisor, he told himself. But James did have a point. “I don’t know.” He finally said after a long silence. Maybe he just wanted to go and tell Riley that he wanted to date him, that he wanted to try it, if that would make Scorpius stop looking at him with that face and just be normal. But he didn’t know. 

He noticed Scorpius swallowing with some difficulty, before finally speaking. “Okay.” He simply said.

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?” It didn’t seem like the big deal Scorpius made it look like, but he was glad that he didn’t ask him to stop being his friend. 

“Yeah, just… Just wondering that.” 

“Okay.” The silence fell flat again. “So… I’m going to the dorms, I don’t know if you…” 

“Yes, I was going, too.” Scorpius said, gesturing down the corridor. “After you?” He asked.

Albus smiled softly. “What a gentleman.” And blushed over his own comment. 

(…)  
.  
.  
.  
Albus feet were cold, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. His hands were shaking, and his vision was being obstructed by something dripping from his head. The liquid dipped all the way to his lips, and he tasted the metallic taste of blood. 

“Albus” 

His head snapped back up and he desperately looked for the familiar voice calling him. He turned around in circles, startled. Everything was dizzy, and it took him longer than necessary to realize that he was in a maze he was, unfortunately, familiar with. ‘Scorpius’ He tried to call after his friend, but his voice wasn’t working.

He turned around once more, just to finally see the silhouette of a silver haired woman. Her wand was pointing to the boy laying at her feet.

Albus tried to shout, to run, to move, but he couldn’t. He felt his heart hammering on his chest, his head throbbing and his entire body covered in cold sweat.

“Albus.” 

His friend was now trying to stand up, his body shaking and his legs failing to keep him up. The woman smiled widely, before turning to Albus. She didn’t say anything, but Albus understood the look in her eyes. She was doing this on purpose, to hurt him. She was going to kill his friend and it was going to be his fault, all because he wouldn’t cooperate with her plan. 

“Al.”

The pressure on his chest became unbearable. He tried to take a breath but even though air was coming into his lungs, he felt unable to grasp any kind of oxygen. The woman raised his wand, and Albus was now unable to move a muscle. He stayed there, gasping for air as thick tears fell down his cheeks. It felt as if the world was closing on him, as if he was being crushed by invisible walls that constricted his chest and left him drowning in an oxygen-less air.

“Avada-“ 

“ALBUS!”

He woke up, covered in sweat and feeling cold all over. He was panting, trying to grasp air. Scorpius was practically sitting on top of him, both of his hands on his shoulders. 

“Albus.” He said, and it sounded so different from the voice on his dream that he couldn’t help the broken sob he let out. “It’s okay. It’s okay” He moved closer and pulled him into a tight hug. Albus buried his face on his shoulder, trying to muffle the sound of his crying. “Don’t worry, I put a silencing charm, everyone is still asleep.” Albus just nodded. Nightmares weren’t that frequent nowadays, but they still happened, and they had both developed a small protocol to keep it as low profile as they could. 

The dorms were in complete silence, aside from Coleman’s constant snoring. He usually wished his roommate would just cast a silencing charm and spare them all, but right now that awful sound reminded him that he was in the dorms and that he was safe.

He stayed there, holding Scorpius and trying to tell himself that it was okay, Delphi wasn’t there, it was all over and no one could hurt them. It was a tedious mantra, especially after two years. He just hoped that one day he wouldn’t need it anymore.

He felt his friend moving his hand against his back, and felt embarrassed for himself. He hated how much he needed Scorpius, how he always ended up needing him for comfort. He wondered what he would do without him, if he could ever wake up from a nightmare and bear with it by himself, if there would be a time when he wouldn’t need Scorpius to keep him grounded. Albus knew that it wouldn’t. And he hated himself for it. He hated how much he needed him, how much he wanted him. 

Albus pulled away, feeling very conscious of himself. 

“Are you okay?” Scorpius was combing Albus’ hair away from his face, his fingers were gentle and he had the frailest look on his face. It was in moments like this when Albus fell in love all over again with him. In this moments they completely forgot about personal space, there were no boundaries. Everything was so open, and no touch felt weird or out of place. 

He looked at Scorpius’ eyes, how they glistered with the faintest trace of tears on them. He reached to comb his fringe, and placed a strand behind his ear. It felt back on his face, since it wasn’t long enough. Albus realized just then that he didn’t care. There was a moment when he almost lost him, a moment in which he thought it would be the last time he would see his best friend. He didn’t care if Scorpius thought it was weird, if he wanted space. Right now he needed to know that he was real, that he was there and he was safe. 

He moved his hand down his face, softly tracing the lines of his cheekbones. Scorpius didn’t say anything, and just let him continue. He looked at every detail of his face, from the faint sun burn on his nose to the soft lines of his cupid bow. Scorpius opened his mouth slightly, and Albus finally rested his hand fully on his cheek. It was warm, and it made his heart fill with a tingly feeling. 

“Albus,” Scorpius finally said. 

Albus looked up at him, his hand still holding his face. “I thought she was going to kill you.” He said so lowly that he wondered if Scorpius had heard him.

“It was just a dream.” He said equally low. And if he was bothered by Albus hand, he didn’t say anything. 

“No it wasn’t.” Everything felt quiet, and if it wasn’t by the weight of Scorpius’ cheek against his hand, Albus would have thought he was still dreaming. “It happened.” His voice broke the tiniest bit. “I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t.” Scorpius added quickly. He reached up and grabbed Albus’ hand, pressing it more firmly against his face. “Don’t. You know it was not your fault.” 

It was a discussion they had gone over many times, and Albus would have follow the same script if he hadn’t been so focused on his own hand. He let his thumb caress his cheekbone, his eyes fixated on the soft movement. 

“Al…” He turned his gaze back to Scorpius, who was now staring at him.

“I just want everything to be normal.” He said softly. 

“What?” Scorpius blinked, apparently startled by Albus choice of words. 

“Us.” He said. Scorpius was practically straddling him, so close to him that he could hear his breathing. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to blurt it all out, tell him how he felt. But he had already done that, and it had just ruined everything. No matter how much he loved him, he was not going to throw away what they already had. “I don’t wanna lose my best friend.”

Scorpius stared at him in complete silence. He finally shook his head, as if he was trying to get something out of his mind. The movement made Albus drop his hand. He was already missing the feeling. 

“I better go.” Scorpius muttered while he started to get up. “You are right, it’s been a really long day.”

Albus looked at him confused. A part of him just wanted to ask Scorpius to stay, he hated being alone after a nightmare. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so. “Did I do something wrong?” Maybe he had been wrong, maybe not every touch was welcomed between them. He shouldn’t have overstepped again.

Scorpius must have sense his panic, because he smiled at him. “No, no. It’s just…” He seemed to think for a moment, before finally taking a deep breath. “It’s me, I’m sorry.” 

That didn’t explain much, but Albus just nodded. Scorpius left, and Albus dropped himself on his pillow, wondering how long he could keep this all up before exploding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I want to apologize for the waiting, college is literally killing me. Right now I should be writting an essay for my Contemporanean History classes but... well, this fic was due first!
> 
> Second of all, we are probably two chapters left into this fic, depends on how the writting goes.
> 
> As always, all comments make me really happy <3
> 
> Also, can you believe this two haven't kissed yet? I'm almost mad with myself!
> 
>  
> 
> ps: I will try my best to update as soon as possible! and pardon any mistake, I read it a thousand times but sometimes I still miss something.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius' POV

To say that Scorpius was avoiding Albus was an understatement. He was aware that he had been running away from him since this morning, having woken up early in the morning before Albus, and making a point in eating breakfast as quickly as possible before hiding in the library.

But of course, avoiding Albus also meant that he had to avoid Rose, so now he was sitting in the Astronomy tower, wishing he had brought a cloak, because it was rather chilly.

The only thing he actually felt guilty about was not visiting Lily, but he hoped that she was still asleep so she wouldn’t notice his absence. He had promised to visit her and he hated breaking a promise. He would had gone, but he was sure that he would encounter at least five Weasleys, if not a very specific Potter.

It wasn’t until lunch that he couldn’t keep hiding and he made his way to the dorms. He had a bunch of books to put away, he told himself, as if he wasn’t just making time so he wouldn’t encounter Albus in the great hall.

Scorpius was trying not to drop the books in his arms as he closed the door behind him, glad of not hearing any snoring, which meant that Coleman was finally up. He turned around, and almost dropped a very treasured copy of History of Magic on the floor.

“Albus.” He said, sounding higher pitched than he would have wanted. Albus was sitting on his bed, legs crossed and a piece of parchment in front of him. It was filled with more crossed out words than actual content, so Scorpius guessed it was either a History essay or a very emotional letter.

“Scorpius.” Albus said casually. He had probably noticed him before Scorpius had.

They stayed there for a moment, both of them looking at each other. Albus seemed expectant, as if he was waiting for Scorpius to say something.

“I was reading.” He explained. “I just need to put away some books…”

“Okay.” Albus didn’t say much, so he just walked all the way to his trunk. He felt his friend’s eyes while he put down his books, and tried to think of what to say. ‘I just want everything to be normal.’ Albus had said, which was very unfortunate, because Scorpius had the sudden urge of kissing him. Dammit. Maybe he shouldn’t have thought of that, not while he could still feel Albus’ eyes on his back.

Every scene from last night was fixated on his mind. Albus’ nightmare had been quickly forgotten as he remembered his hand burning his skin with every soft caress. It was weird, entirely new, and somehow so familiar. They had been close so many times, he had felt Albus’ eyes on him so many times. Yet it never burned so much, never made his skin tingle and his heart do leaps. Why was that happening now was a mystery to him, but somehow made perfect sense.

He stood up, thinking of something to excuse himself. Albus was still in the same position, and he was twisting the feather of his quill to the point it was already all smashed. He wanted to say so much, yet he just stood there. ‘You and your boyfriend’. Riley’s friend’s words made him want to puke.

“I…” Scorpius began to say.

“No. Listen.” Albus interrupted him, and promptly jumped from the bed, standing now a few steps away from Scorpius. “I can’t do this anymore, okay? All this silence, all this awkwardness, I can’t.” Scorpius understood that perfectly, but he had only a bunch of solutions for it, most of which made his stomach turn. Albus sighed, and run a hand through his hair. “I understand if you want space, but please just tell me if you do so because I can’t keep on guessing what you want.”

“I don’t want space.” Scorpius said without thinking it twice. He stared at Albus, trying to connect two words together and form a coherent sentence.

“Then what do you want.” He didn’t seem angry, just mostly nervous and anxious.

Scorpius felt his throat constricted and his hands shaking the tiniest bit. “You.” He managed to get out.

Albus stared at him for a second almost unblinking, before he shook his head and took a step back. “No.” He said. Scorpius felt his heart dropping to the bottom of his stomach. “No. Don’t” He looked at Scorpius with pleading eyes. “Maybe it’s me the one that needs space, you know? I can’t do this Scorpius, I can’t.” Scorpius was almost afraid of speaking. “I tried, okay? Merlin knows I did. I tried to go on and date someone else, I tried to get over you and be normal but I can’t.” He paused. “I love you” Oh. “I love you and I can’t act as if I don’t. I can’t just be your friend because I have no idea how to do that anymore.” Scorpius couldn’t help the big smile that formed on his face, but Albus hardly seemed to notice it, too far lost in his own speech. “And I wish I hadn’t said anything so I wouldn’t had messed everything up but…” Scorpius walked the few steps that were between them and was now standing barely an inch in front of Albus. “…but I did and I…” Albus seemed to notice the closeness, and his voice lowered as he looked up at Scorpius. “…I can’t take it back and…”

Scorpius wasn’t completely aware that he had taken the decision, but one second he was walking towards Albus, and one second later his lips were pressed against his friend’s. He felt a sudden rush of adrenaline through his body, as the weight of what he’d done finally hit him. Albus’ lips were soft, and it felt as everything he needed but he didn’t know he did.

Albus remained still, completely petrified against Scorpius. For a spilt of a second it felt as if the world had stopped. It was the calm before the storm, before Scorpius finally felt Albus relaxing, and then it was nothing like he could have ever imagined. Albus’ lips moved against his, and it was like finding and old treasured book from his childhood that he didn’t even know he had lost. It was like the first time he had tried his favourite candy, and the first time he had seen a firework when he was a child. It was new, exciting, it made his heart race and feel like he had been missing it his entire life.

And it was over way too quickly. He hadn’t even realized he had put his hands on Albus’ face until Albus pulled away. He pushed Scorpius almost as if he was burning him. His face was flushed all the way down his neck and his lips looked shinny and way too enticing.

“What are you doing?” Albus’ voice was quivering, and he noticed that his hands were shaking.

Scorpius stared at him, and he swore that he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He didn’t know where to start. There was too much to say, too much to explain and too much to apologize for. He looked at his best friend, his trembling lips, his red cheeks and his shining eyes. He felt his heart skipping a beat. “I think I’m in love with you.” He whispered.

Albus looked at him, and something passed through his eyes, before he let out a small but bitter laugh. “Don’t.” He said. “I know you mean well but you don’t have to do this, it would just hurt more.”

“What?” He blinked at Albus.

“You don’t have to pretend.” Albus voice was barely above a whisper. He took a deep breath. “Please don’t do that because I would hate myself for it.”

“I’m not pretending.” Scorpius stared at him, and he didn’t know if he was hurt or confused. “Do you really think I would do that?”

Albus looked as if he was trying to solve a very complex puzzle. “You kissed me.” He finally said.

“I know. And I liked it.” Scorpius felt his face getting warmer. “I mean. I did. And I meant what I said, I love you.” His face was now on fire. “And I didn’t know if it was platonic or not and then I just couldn’t tell the difference anymore but now I kissed you and it felt so good, you know? I just liked it so much and I know you are not supposed to kiss your best mate, do you? I mean, of course not. So I’m now sure that I must be in love with you.” He knew that he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Not that I wasn’t sure before, I wouldn’t have kissed you if I wasn’t, that would have been stupid it’s just that I-“ The moment he realized that Albus had kissed him, it was already too late, because he had already pulled back again.

“I love you too.” He said, and the smile he had on his face was so big that it almost hurt Scorpius.

“Oh.” He managed to say. They were really close, and he felt the sudden urge to hug his friend or just touch him in general.

“Yeah, ‘oh’.” Albus mocked him, his smile still as big as before. Scorpius frowned and made a face, and Albus laughed at him.

“So you don’t hate me?” Scorpius finally asked him.

Albus looked almost confused. “Why would I?”

“Because I was an asshole.” He said, and then rolled his eyes, because it was ridiculous that Albus had to act shocked every time he swore. “I mean it. I was so selfish, and I acted like an idiot. I told you that I would never change my mind about it and now… well. This. I would understand if you are angry at me…”

“Merlin you are dramatic.” Albus sighed. “Has anyone told you that you can be a real drama queen sometimes?”

Scorpius frowned. “Well, you are one to talk.”

“I know.” He said, and closed the distance between them by putting his arms around Scorpius neck. “But you still love me despite it.” He tried to seem cool, but Scorpius could see that he was nervous. It was the most endearing thing ever.

Scorpius smiled at him, and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I do, actually.”

“Oh” Albus blinked at him for a second, before putting on his act again. “I mean, of course you do.”

“Mhm…” Scorpius hummed affirmatively, “A lot, actually. And I cannot believe it took me this long to realize…”

Albus was now blushing. “You don’t have to be cheesy.” He murmured.

“I kind of feel like I do.” They were really close, and Scorpius could feel Albus shaking the tiniest bit, but he was sure that he was shaking too. “After all I…”

“I really wanna kiss you right now.” Albus blurted out.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. “Oh.” He swallowed. “Okay.”

“Okay” Albus repeated.

They stayed there, staring at each other. They were so close that Scorpius felt Albus’ breathe on his face, and it made his skin tingle. Albus was absently playing with the hair at the base of his neck, at it made him physically unable to think straight.

“So… are you going to… or do I…” Scorpius started.

“Right. Yes.” He composed himself and looked extremely serious. Scorpius stood there, waiting for him to move.

“Are all of our kisses going to take this long because I d-“ Before he could finish, Albus lifted himself and pressed his lips against his. Scorpius returned the kiss almost immediately, and bent his neck down, so Albus wouldn’t have to stand on his toes. Though the idea was really endearing.

He was only a bit self-conscious about not knowing what to do. He had never kissed anyone before, only a random girl during a game at a party last year, but it didn’t really count. This was entirely different, in ways he couldn’t describe. And he knew that Albus had never kiss anyone before, he would have told him, but he was still worried about disappointing him.

He wasn't able to let his thoughts consume him anyway, because Albus turned his head a bit to the side and deepened the kiss, and Scorpius could have sworn that he had even forgotten his own name.

One of his hands left Albus waist and moved up to the back of his neck, which prompted Albus to press closer and tangle his fingers on Scorpius’ hair. Scorpius made a sound in response, and pressed himself closer, a bit harsher than he intended, because Albus had to take a step back to avoid falling and ended up hitting one of the bed posts.

Scorpius made a move to pull back and check if he was okay, but Albus followed him up and kissed him again before he could speak.

It should have been awkward. Their noses bumped more than once, and he was painfully aware that Albus was a better kisser than him. But he thought nothing could feel better than this. His body was pressed against Albus, whose hands were running through his hair and it made his scalp tingle all the way down his spine. Albus’ lips were soft and he tasted like tea and peppermint imps and it was making his mind feel foggy.

He thought he was in heaven, but then Albus bit his bottom lip and he gasped, and Albus took the opportunity to let their tongues met. He couldn’t help the moan he let out. Albus must have felt the same, because he made a noise that made his heart beat faster than he thought it was healthy, or appropriated for this hours.

It was that las thought the one that made him pull back, feeling as if he had run for kilometers. Scorpius opened his eyes, and caught a glimpse of Albus with his eyes closed and his lips pouted, before he finally opened his eyes too. Scorpius half wondered if he should go to the infirmary, because it couldn’t be healthy for his heart to handle this much emotion.

Albus’ eyes were the brightest he’d ever seen them, his lips were swollen and red, and his hair was messier than usual. Nothing had changed, this was the same Albus as always, his best friend, and maybe it was that what made his heart race. This was his Albus, with the same messy hair and freckled nose as always, and it made him want to kiss him or Merlin knows what at this point.

Their eyes met, and Scorpius knew they were on the same page.

“Hey.” Albus whispered with a small smile.

“Hey.” He said back. Albus was playing with his hair and he thought that he wouldn’t mind if he made a habit out of that. “That was nice.”

“Yeah” Albus said. Scorpius wondered if there was some kind of charm over him that could explain why he never could take his eyes of his best friend. He half hoped he would never find out, because that would meant he would have to stop. “Why did we stop kissing?” Albus asked.

Scorpius laughed and combed Albus’ hair out of his face. “Because it’s like, twelve am, and we should be heading to lunch?”

Albus rolled his eyes. “Lunch is overrated.”

“Wow.” Scorpius raised his eyebrows, and made a point of touching Albus’ face as if he was checking for symptoms. “Are you okay? Is this you? Did you just say you don’t wanna go to lunch?”

Albus lightly slapped his hand away. “Oh, shut up.” He said, but quickly put on a flirty face. “Maybe I found something I like more than food.” Scorpius decided in that moment that he very much liked flirty Albus.

“Wow, squeak, Albus Potter said that he likes me more than food? What’s next? A marriage proposal?” He asked.

“Well, we are probably too young for that.” He said, though his cheeks were now red. “Though I was thinking about more kissing? That seems nice.”

“Oh.” This time he blushed. “Yeah that’d be nice…”

They kissed for several seconds, which included more nose bumps, one time that Scorpius almost bit Albus’ lip and couldn’t stop laughing about it, while Albus very much tried to keep kissing him despite his huge grin. It was awkward, in need of a lot of practice and overall a complete mess, but Scorpius knew he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The room was filled with muffled giggles and murmured ‘sorrys’ from both of them, but they finally managed to keep a rhythm, when suddenly the door burst in open.

They jumped away from each other, but couldn’t help to look any less suspicious.

“Oh my god.” McCollins very dramatically covered his face with his hand. “We were cool until now, please don’t ever let me walk into both of you doing that.” McCollins was a muggleborn, easy irritable and quite snobbish, but more importantly, he also hated gossip.

“We weren’t doing anything…” Albus said, lamely. McCollins raised an eyebrow, and Albus looked down.

“We were just… It won’t happen again…” Scorpius was now damming the fact that he was pale as a ghost, because he was sure his face was red all the way to his ears.

“Oh, I hope not. Now it’s just some snogging, but heavens knows what I could walk in later.” Both of them gaped at their roommate, who just picked up his cloak and made his way to the door again. “But I’ll let it pass, just because you’ve been really quiet about it until now. I hope it stays that way, we still have to live with each other’s for a while.”

They would have told him that it was impossible for their roommates to walk in on them before, because this was their first kiss, but McCollins was gone the moment he finished his sentence.

“So…” Albus was awkwardly swinging on his feet.

“We were lucky it wasn’t Coleman, he would have sent a Howler to every student by dinner.” Scorpius murmured absently.

“Yeah, we need to be more careful next time…” Albus answered.

“Next time?” He turned to look at his friend.

“I mean… yeah? Unless you don’t want to? But I thought…” He was now nervously twisting his fingers.

“No. I mean, yes. I want to.” He said quickly. “So is this like… a thing?”

“You mean us or the kissing?”

“Both?” Now it was his time to awkwardly fidget with his sleeves.

“Oh, so… Both? Both is good…” Albus said.

“Both is great.” He said, and for a moment they just smiled at each other like idiots. “Wait.” Scorpius said. “This thing… that we are…” He looked at Albus. “What is it?”

“I don’t… know... I thought you meant like… us… kissing?” He winced at his choice of words.

“So we kiss?” Scorpius frowned, confused.

“I mean, yeah…” Albus ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry this is awkward. I don’t know what to say, this is all so fast and new and I want to ask you if you want to be my boyfriend but it seems all so surreal and I…”

“Boyfriend?” Scorpius almost chocked on the word.

“I-I… yeah? If you want to? We don’t have to. We can just… kiss…?” He was now twisting his fingers so hard that it must be hurting.

“No, no. I want to. Be your boyfriend, if you want to.” He said so quickly it was barely a coherent sentence.

“Oh. Yes. I want to.” They both stared at each other. “This is so weird.”

“Yes.” Scorpius said, trying to remember to breath. “I love you, though.”

Albus smiled, almost relieved. “Me too.” He said.

Scorpius took a step forward, when someone knocked on the door. “I am coming in.” There was another knock, and McCollins continued speaking. “I am coming in, please keep your hands to each other.”

“For fucks sake.” Albus almost yelled. “Just come in.” The door opened, and Albus frowned at his roommate. “Are you gonna do this every time?”

“Dunno, do I have to?” He said.

Albus rolled his eyes, and turned his attention to Scorpius. “Should we go grab lunch before it’s too late?”

“Sure.” He said with a smile.

“We as in all of us or…?” McCollins was looking between the two of them.

“No. Just us.” He gestured at Scorpius and him. “Why are you still here?”

“Wow. Rude. This is my dorm too, you know? Don’t ask why we are not friends then, huh.” McCollins said.

“What the-“ Albus frowned at him confused, and opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and just shook his head. “Whatever.”

(…)

They were sitting on the Slytherin table, and Albus was having a rough time with his potatoes.

“Albus just cut them smaller for Merlin’s sake...” Scorpius said exasperatedly. They were sitting next to each other, probably too far away, or too close? He couldn’t tell. He still felt a faintly tingle where Albus had touched him, and he was painfully aware of the distance between them.

“Shut up...” Albus muttered. He was about to make a comment, when he noticed someone in the distance. Scorpius followed his gaze and noticed Riley walking in. He was talking next to the same short haired girl from yesterday, who looked now completely disheveled and was missing her tie.

Riley seemed to notice Albus and waved at him. Albus blushed lightly and waved back.

Scorpius guessed he must have had a weird face, because Albus frowned at him. “What?” He asked him.

“Nothing.” Scorpius muttered, stabbing his own potatoes. He finally looked up to Albus, who was staring at him with a grin on his face. “What?”

“We are just friends.” Albus said with a smile.

“Okay...” He wasn’t sure why Albus was telling him that, he didn’t really care about Riley.

“Scorpius.” He looked back at Albus. “I mean it. I never liked him that way, and never will.”

Scorpius lightly shrugged. “Okay.” He repeated, avoiding eye contact. “He liked you, though.”

“I know...” Albus said. “But he also knows that I like you.” Scorpius refused to raise his head. “So you being jealous is pointless.”

“I’m not jealous...” He muttered, though his cheeks turned pink.

Albus smiled at him, which only caused Scorpius to pout even more. “You are dork, you know?”

Scorpius frowned at him, and was about to answer, when someone sat very loudly on the other side of the table.

Albus moved slightly away from him. Scorpius hadn’t even realized that they were so close.

Rose looked at both of them. “Am I interrupting?” She asked while raising her eyebrow.

“No, why would you?” Albus answered casually. Scorpius had to admit that he managed to play it off rather cool, but not enough for Rose.

She looked between both of them, before settling into staring at Scorpius.

“W-what?” He said, already blushing. He was in no way capable of playing it cool.

Rose only smiled at him and grabbed a plate. The other Slytherins had long ago stopped caring about where she ate.

“What is going on?” Albus was looking between the two of them.

This time she looked at him. “Nothing.” Albus frowned at her, as if he was trying to silently ask her something, but she ignored him. “Lily asked where you’ve been, and we have a few chapters to go over for Arithmancy.” She said to Scorpius.

“O-Okay…” Scorpius said.

“And I hope to be the first person to know about this formally, or else I’m going to get really mad.”

This time, both of them blushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has only reminded me how hard is it to write. Hope I didn't completely fail.
> 
> I wanted to add more scenes to it, but I also wanted to post an update ASAP since it's been quite a long time. Sorry for that. My intention was to finish this fic before I had to go back to college, but it took longer than expected.
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter will be the last, folks. And it will probably be a long one.  
> Thanks to everyone that has been reading so far! (And please let me know if you have any special requests for the last chapter? Something that you would like to see? I have most of it planned out, but I'm sure I can fit in some ideas!)


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